The Teacher
by jack-adam
Summary: The ultimate clash of Ran and Shiho begins, fans of the both of them raging a war between them. The most popular student against the most famous teacher. Who would be the champion in votes? ShinichiShiho pairing. COMPLETED!
1. Beneath

My gosh, what is wrong with me these few days? I think I must be having something spinning around in my mind. Here's a new story, and I guess I'll be focusing on the three current stories in the meantime. I'll try to get the sequel for Ai Edogawa going, but the drafts in my head are still sketchy. But until then, please read and review my stories, and I'll update as fast as humanly possible.

P.S. Shinichi and Shiho do not know each other in this story. At least not like in the Detective Conan stories, they don't.

I corrected the mistakes in this. Boy were there a lot. Thanks to all those who spotted them.

CHAPTER 1

" Ah? A new teacher?"

" Yeah," Ran said, scratching her head. " They said that she was just a few months older than most of us, but had the IQ of 200."

Shinichi's eyes widened.

" 200?"

Sonoko raised her eyebrows, rotating around in her chair. " How do you know the news of this, Ran?" Sonoko asked, chewing the huge loaf of bread in her hands hungrily. " You're usually the most blur one of the lot; only finding out the news when the principal announces it in assembly."

" That's not true." Ran said huffily.

" Yes it is." Shinichi muttered.

Ran just bit her lip, glaring poutily at the two of them before answering. " My father knows her." Ran said, looking away, noticing two figures appear outside the door, muttering sounds heard. " She had some sort of connections with a past client of his, but I'm still not too clear about it. My father told me about it today as I caught him before he went downstairs to the betting grounds."

" Oh," Sonoko said, watching the two figures too, before averting her attention back to Ran. " I wonder what she's like."

" She's silent and cold." Came a voice from behind them and they jumped.

" Yoro." Shinichi said.

" Yo." He said cheerfully. " She looks really sullen and quiet, but she had hotness to be equal to Ran's. Plus, she has a super body."

" Really?" Shinichi asked, suddenly interested. " Like what?"

" Oh, put a lid in it." Ran said angrily, shoving Yoro away, blushing to the roots of her hair. It amazed her that even after this many years of solving mysteries and staying around serious and top notch people, Shinichi still had certain areas that he had yet to mature. She watched him laugh along with Yoro, and she bit her lip. She didn't love him. It sounded strange, after all the different names she had been called, all having her referred as his wife, but there was not an atom of attraction she had for him. She looked away as she heard the doorknob being wrenched open. Shinichi had told her he loved her a few days ago, and she had put him down. But he had never stopped trying, and she felt-

Irritated.

Yes, she loved him as a friend. But why did he want more than that?

Everyone stared at the new teacher who had walked in.

" Damn." Shinichi whispered.

Damn indeed. All the way from her milky skin which was shown from her tight skirt all the way to her unblemished face, she was altogether beautiful. Shinichi even swore he had seen the male teacher behind her lick his dry lips. But from the moment he saw her, he knew that chemistry was not going to go along as smoothly and relaxingly as teacher Anzaki did. From the very second he saw her, one word filled his mind. ' Iceberg.' He had thought.

Iceberg.

Nothing could penetrate that icy exterior which she bore.

Her eyes traced the class slowly, her hands on her hips. She didn't say anything as the male teacher behind her slowly wrote her name out on the board. Everyone in the classroom, even Maki, who slept in the class from the start to the end was staring at the board in rapt attention, his head following the marker as it slowly traced out her words in sleek colour of black.

Shiho Miyano.

While many boys in the class scribbled down the name in their phone books furiously, Shinichi frowned at her. There was something familiar about that name. Where did he hear it before?

" I want you to meet someone, Shin-chan!" he could remember a girl's voice said happily, walking him down a corridor.

Shinichi's eyes snapped open.

He blinked.

What WAS that?

The male teacher coughed and nodded at her, before walking out of the room, shutting the door quietly. Ran was bedazzled. She had never seen the class this silent and quiet before. Sure, there were times where they were silent and totally quiet, but this was almost scary. Her eyes traced the girl before her with her eyes. There was something strong inside that girl in front of her. She had the ability of silencing a room without even trying.

" My name is Shiho Miyano." The girl said silkily, her hands sliding into the pockets of her skirt. " As you can see on the whiteboard."

Silence continued that.

" I will be teaching you chemistry." She said. " And I do not like to waste time. Please open your books to page 14, thank you."

As she walked over to retrieve her book from the table, her eyes and Shinichi's met.

They just looked at each other.

A wordless communication took place.

She turned away.

Sonoko saw this, and she raised her eyebrows.

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" Boy, was that class boring."

" But she was hot, wasn't she?"

" Must get her number, if I have the change."

" Didn't warm up to us much, did she?"

The class slowly dispersed from the chemistry lab, muttering silent remarks between themselves.

Ran waited until almost everyone was gone before she walked up to Shiho by herself. She didn't like the negative remarks about her new teacher, and wanted her to feel as welcome to the school as possible, not just some random teacher who was beautiful, boring, and had a hot body.

" Er, Shiho-sensei?" Ran asked silently, and Shiho looked up.

" Yes?" Shiho answered coldly.

Ran flinched, but recovered herself.

" I would just like to welcome you to the school," Ran said cheerfully.

" Oh." Shiho said simply, not looking up to meet her eyes.

Ran raised her eyebrows at the teacher.

Odd.

What was with her?

"" I enjoyed the lesson very much." Ran chirped.

" I thought it was horrifically boring." Shiho said.

Ran almost laughed, but her tone was so cold and quiet it was almost like she meant it.

" You have beautiful hair." Ran went on.

" I was thinking of shaving it bald." Shiho almost yawned out.

" I like your name." Ran persisted.

" I was named after a prostitute." Shiho said. She knew that this was a lie, but the cheerfulness of this student was really starting to bug her.

Ran's mouth opened and shut.

" Ran!" Shinichi called out, opening the sliding doors. " Come on!"

Ran frowned at Shiho, who was still not looking at her.

" Okay." Ran said, following him.

Shiho watched her leave before sighing, and sat down.

" Japanese school girls sure are irritating." She muttered.

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" You tried talking to her?"

Ran nodded, and all of the boys around her just gaped at her.

" I never knew that you were a lesbian!" Yoro gasped.

" Don't be an idiot." Sonoko snapped; dispersing the crowd while Ran blushed.

" So how was she?" Sonoko asked.

" Cold." Ran said truthfully. " It was almost like she hated everything in the world. I doubt that she has any friends."

" That's mean, Ran." Sonoko laughed.

" Not that she couldn't if she wanted to." Ran said, almost ignoring what Sonoko had said. " But there's something about her that makes her unapproachable."

" Mm," Sonoko said thoughtfully, before noticing Shinichi deep in thought. " What's up, Shinichi?" she said, and Shinichi jerked to attention. " You've been quiet for a long time. What's on your-er-mind?"

He ignored the insult.

" Nothing." He said. " Just that-I think I saw that girl before."

Ran turned around.

" Really?" she asked. " Where from?"

He scratched his head uncomfortably.

" That's the weird part." He said, sighing. " I don't know."

Sonoko snorted and turned back around, making her way to the schoolyard. Ran, however, seemed to consider, " If you find out, will you tell me, Shinichi?" she asked, and Shinichi could feel heat rise up to his face.

" Sure." He said.

She smiled.

" Thanks." She said.

He watched her walk off for a moment before biting his lip.

" Oi, Ran." He said, and she stopped.

She turned around, smiling.

" Yes?" she asked.

Face red, he looked away.

" I need to speak to you later." He said softly. " Can I meet you after our sports meet?"

Ran almost knew what was going to happen.

What had happened over the last few days.

" Okay." She said silently, and walked off.

Shinichi grinned, and ran after her.

He thought that finally something would happen between the two of them.

He was right, after all.

In more ways than one.

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" Nice shot! Kudo!"

Shinichi smirked as he ran off to defend, still smirking at the goalkeeper who was pounding his fists on the ground. ' Was Ran watching me?' he asked himself, turning around. She wasn't there. His eyes widened before he looked back down at the pitch, biting his lip. What was he thinking?

She NEVER was here. Sure she had come to watch him for the first few days, but she had been acting really distant the past few months. Sure they were friends, able to talk in school and everything. But they didn't walk to school together anymore. She did not make him lunch anymore.

She didn't-love him anymore.

Shiho just happened to walk past, notes in her hands as she noticed a downtrodden Shinichi standing there. She blinked.

There was something familiar about him.

She was in a dark room, once again.

Suddenly a blinding light flashed into the room, and she started to scream. She didn't even know she could scream, but here she was, yelling and shouting like nothing could be cared. But her eyes got used to the light, and she winced.

Who was that boy hiding behind that woman?

" Hello, Shiho-chan." The woman said kindly.

" Hey! Shiho!" someone called, and she winced. She really hated it when people called her by her first name. It was almost like a form of disrespect, a swear word. She almost said something spiteful to the person when she noticed that it was the principal. He smiled jauntily, and walked over.

Oh. Him.

" Hello, sir." She said tonelessly.

" How do you find our school?" he asked her.

There they go again, she thought aimlessly. The whole school finding talk. " It's good." She said.

The principal gave a cough.

" Er-JUST good?" he asked hopefully.

Shiho almost rolled her eyes but held herself.

Her eyes went back to the boy.

" Who's that, principal?" she asked, and he looked in her direction.

" Which one?" he asked.

" The one with the number eight on his jersey." She said.

" Oh, Kudo Shinichi!" he said excitedly. " That's a very popular boy in our school. Won the Well-rounded prize two years in a row!"

" Oh?" she asked.

" Yeah." He said jollily. " Famous with the girls, liked by the guys, good-looking, great at sports, fantastic at studies, and the High School detective."

Her eyes widened.

" High school detective?"

" Yeah." He said, glad that she was showing interest in something. " Some people argue that Hattori Heiji is as good as him, but, well, whatever."

" Tentei-san."

She shook herself.

" Okay." She said, walking away.

" Ah! Wait!" the principal said, but she was already disappearing out of sight. He scratched his head. " Wow." He said, impressed.

" Cool."

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It was eight.

Shiho yawned and looked at the clock.

Eight.

She rubbed her tired head and got to her feet. Whoa, head rush. She dropped back to the chair before getting up again. She didn't remember being this tired ever since she studied for her MIT exams. She pushed open the door, ready to get moving to her car when she stopped. There were noises and straight away she recognized who one of them talking were. The irritatingly cheerful girl in class, and someone else. There was a pillar shadowing herself from the two of them. Somehow, something inside her told herself not to go out. Something was going on. She could feel it.

" What did you want to speak to me about, Shinichi?" came the girl's voice.

She blinked.

Shinichi.

The boy at the football pitch.

" You know what I want to tell you Ran." Came his unsteady voice.

She heard Ran sigh.

" Shinichi, we've been through this a million times," she had said.

" Then say yes." Came Shinichi's pleading voice.

" I love you as a friend, Shinichi." Ran said, in a voice so distant that it sounded almost nothing like her. " And nothing else."

There was a dull silence after that.

" I love you, Ran." Shinichi said hollowly.

" I know you do, Shinichi." Ran said. " It's just with all the things I've been doing and all the things you've been doing, and what other people have been saying-well, I would just like to move on."

Shinichi's heart broke into two.

He looked away.

Ran bit her lip and started to walk away, before stopping.

" We're still friends, right?"

He forced a smile at her.

" Yeah." He said bitterly. " See you tomorrow."

Shiho felt it.

She felt every inch of pain in him.

Shinichi waited until Ran was out of sight before he crumpled down to the floor, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he pressed his hands to his eyes, feeling them moisten against his eyes.

He almost fell asleep until he heard the soft tapping of a foot before him.

He looked up.

" Miyano-sensei." He said softly.

She looked away.

" Come into my office." She said silently, making her way to the office room door.

His eyes widened before he grinned.

" Right behind you." He said.

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Shinichi watched her as she calmly brought two hot cups of coffee over to the table and laid it down. He took one of them. " Thanks." He said.

" You're welcome." She replied.

They just sat there for a short while, nobody making a sound expect for the faint whirr of the fan blades, sipping their coffee in peace. Shinichi drank one quarter of it before setting it down on the table, biting his lip as the tears threatened to fall once again. " So I guess you heard everything, right?" he asked.

For the first time in the day, Shiho smiled.

Or was it a smirk?

" Yeah." She said. " Every last word."

He hung his head.

She was about to say something spiteful to him about the way he was so clingy to Ran that even a dead hog wouldn't have wanted to go out with him when he opened his mouth. " We were friends since childhood." He said, and she was cut off in mid-sentence. " We would always walk home from school together to sit down under a huge tree found outside the schoolyard."

He paused for a while to lick his lips.

" I was happy." He went on. " We were the best of friends, even though many teased that we were husband and wife. Soon after we had sports meets with her karate and my soccer, we didn't have much time to do that any more. But she always found time to take it out for me."

Shiho didn't say anything.

" One time it was pouring buckets of rain, and we held the soccer match in the school sports hall. We played for hours and hours, because we couldn't tell what time it was or how much time went by. And before I knew it it was already nine at night." He picked up the coffee cup. " I saw her still under the tree, an umbrella in one hand, the lunch still in her hands."

His hands dropped the cup, spilling it sideways.

" Could you hand me the," Shiho said, pointing at the tissues before he stopped.

Tears were flowing down his face.

" I love her." He burst out. " I love her so damn much. But-why doesn't she love me back?"

He was almost yelling out now, wiping his eyes furiously, but they almost refused to stay clean. But he stopped for a mere moment as he felt her arms wrap around him tightly. His eyes widened in shock.

" Don't worry." Shiho said silently. " I won't let that happen."

She pulled away, not noticing the blush appearing on his face.

" W-What do you mean by that?" he asked.

She just smirked as she walked off. " You'll see." She said. " Meet me after your class tomorrow. I'll see you then."

He didn't say anything for a while, before smiling.

" Okay." He said.

" And one more thing," she said, throwing the tissue box at him. " Don't cry in front of a lady. It spells out one word. Wuss."

She walked out, shutting the door behind her.

He gazed at her for a while before looking down at the tissue box in his hands.

" I know that," he muttered, pulling out two to three tissues out at one go.

Then he smiled.

The iceberg had melted.

" Maybe she isn't so cold after all." He said, grinning.

Shiho stepped into her dark house.

She almost jumped as her sister's face almost bounced up to meet her, grinning almost madly in excitement.

" How was school? Anything happened to you today, sis?" came her older sister's excited voice, smiling.

Shiho raised her eyebrows and looked away.

" No." she said. " But there's going to."

END OF CHAPTER 1

Please read and review.

Enough said.


	2. The plan

Whoa, thanks for all the reviews. I had a major burnout yesterday, and wondered if I would ever type another letter on the keyboard ever again. But here I am, full of ideas, so please keep reading and reviewing my stories.

CHAPTER 2

_" Do you know what it's like to cry, Shiho?"_

_Shiho remembered looking up at her mother. " No." she said._

_Her mother smiled._

_" It's when you feel pain," her mother said, a strangely bitter smile on her face. " When you feel anguish and pain."_

_Shiho raised her eyebrows. " Pain?" she asked coolly. " And what's that?"_

_Her mother opened her mouth to say something, but shut it once more. " Never mind." She said. " Never mind."_

" Miss Miyano? Miss Miyano?"

Shiho looked up, noticing a young boy propping a book up to her face. She rubbed her tired head and nodded at him. " Yeah?' she asked.

He raised his eyebrows.

" Er. . ." he said uneasily. " You told me to meet you."

She looked at him for a moment before nodding and clicked her tongue. " Oh yeah." She said. " Your last assessment was the lowest in class. It was disastrous I must say, and your class is already bad enough."

The boy blinked. " How so?"

" You couldn't even tell the difference between a molecule and an atom, the most basic of the basic for your age. I know kids at your age are naturally stupid, but you're fifteen, so please just grow up."

The kid bit his lip and nodded, most likely to run off to cry in some toilet, no doubt. Shiho watched him go before walking towards the recess hall, ready for lunch. She nodded as three schoolgirls said good morning to her, and walked on, reaching the teacher's table, where she was greeted.

" Hey, Miss Miyano!" one of them said cheerfully, patting the seat next to her. She said nothing and sat down, propping her chin on her wrist, sighing. The other teachers looked at each other and shrugged.

" Did any of you hear about the 3B class incident?" one of them said.

" Yeah." Said another, letting out a belch. " One of the students beat up the other to almost beyond recognition. What was the reason again?"

" The boy insulted his father." One of them said.

" That's just nasty." One of them said.

Shiho blinked.

" _When you feel anguish and pain."_

" The same thing happened with him, I suppose." She muttered to herself.

" Huh?" one of them asked.

" Nothing." She said.

_Tears were flowing down his face._

" _I love her." He burst out. " I love her so damn much. But-why doesn't she love me back?"_

Just then, Shinichi, Ran and Sonoko walked past, laughing. She blinked. ' He's simply wearing a mask.' She thought. ' Just hiding his true feelings away from everyone around him.'

She got up, and walked towards her classroom.

The other teachers looked at each other and shrugged.

" That's one weird ass woman." One woman said.

" Yeah." A male teacher said. " She's lucky she's hot."

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" We are studying molecules at the moment, and I would like to touch up on the subject on fire." She said, writing on the whiteboard lightly. "The first thing I would like to hit on is the point of drenching a fire with water. Water pouring over a burning log rapidly removes heat from the places where combustion occurs. This lowers the temperature below the activation point at which combustion takes places. Does anybody not get this? This is third-grade stuff."

They all nodded mutely.

" Fantastic." She said. " Since that's pancakes, I would like to ask an almost seemingly totally different question. Can I have a logical explanation of what happens when ice melts?"

Nobody answered, their eyes immediately avoiding hers. She rolled her eyes. For one, she hated teaching people who were seventeen, just close to her age. If there was anything that she hated more, it was teaching people who were just close to her age and couldn't even answer the simplest of questions.

If there was a thing that she hated most, it was teaching people who were just close to her age, couldn't answer the simplest of questions, and didn't want to try to answer the question. Then again, she wouldn't like it if they spoke rubbish either. She also wouldn't like it if they got the answer and thought they were smart just because of that. She hated a lot of people.

That's why she was so hated around.

But she didn't mind that.

Not too much, to say the least.

" You." She snapped, pointing in Shinichi's direction, and he jumped.

" Me?" he squeaked meekly.

" Yes." Shiho said curtly, glaring straight at him. He knew the answer; this was kid's stuff. He was about to tell her the answer when Shiho gave him the fastest wink in history. His eyes widened.

Then he got it.

He smirked inwardly.

" I don't know." He said loudly, just as Ran was about to whisper the answer to him.

Shiho smirked. " Well well well," she said, " A High School Detective and not knowing the scientific reason for ice melting. The standards of the police force really HAVE dropped."

Laughs erupted from the class and Shinichi blushed.

" Sit down." She said to him. " I will see you after class. The reason is that when salt is added to ice water, sodium and chloride separate, resulting in ions that attach to the water molecules. The ions break the intermolecular forces holding water molecules together, causing the molecules to break away from the ice crystals and the ice to melt. The energy, or heat, needed to break the intermolecular forces, called the heat of fusion, is drawn from the surrounding water. Can anyone continue this?"

Silence.

" Perhaps Detective Kudo Shinichi knows?" she said slyly and the class laughed once again. Although anger and embarrassment filled him, a small smile filled his face. The class was having fun. She wasn't as cold as she seemed. Nobody was.

" When salt is added to the ice water, it takes 20 calories of heat per…?" she said, nodding at Sonoko, who had raised her hand.

" 1 gram of solution." Sonoko answered.

" Correct." Shiho said. " 1 gram of solution to dissolve the salt. To melt 1 gram of ice, an additional…?"

" 80 calories of heat." Shiho finished, nodding. " Are needed and drawn from the surrounding water, keeping the solution liquid and dropping its…?"

She smirked at Shinichi.

" Let me give you a clue." She said, earning giggles here and there.

" It starts with a ' freezing', and ends with a ' point'."

The class roared with laughter.

She looked at her watch.

" Alright," she said. " Class dismissed. Everyone except Kudo Shinichi may leave."

The class, all laughing, went out of the class.

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" She isn't so stone cold after all."

" That was great, wasn't it?"

" Hot AND funny!"

" Looks like I won't fail after all."

Shinichi sulked at her as she waved goodbye to all the students before shutting the doors. " You didn't have to make me look THAT bad." He said.

She smirked.

" It worked, didn't it?" she said.

He grunted and sighed.

" You were smart, I have to say." She said, nodding. " No wonder they call you a detective, just by one wink alone you were knew what I meant. Impressive."

" An honor." He said sarcastically. Then his expression softened.

" But. . .thanks for being there for me last night." He said.

She blinked.

Then she smiled.

" Hey, that's what a teacher's here for." She said.

He grinned, then scratched his cheek uncomfortably.

" You. . .you wanted to speak to me?" he asked.

" Ah," she said, her expression brightening. " That."

She stood up, clicking her tongue. " You said that you wanted to get her back right?"

He blinked.

" Who?" he asked.

" Oh, wake up." She snapped. " Mouri, that girl."

" Oh." He blushed. " Her. Yeah I do, why?"

" I could help you if you want." She said. " I happen to be a girl."

He stayed silent.

" Yeah." He said, after she said nothing.

" So I could help you out. How to do what, when to do what, where to do what."

His eyes widened.

" Really?" he asked.

She smirked.

" Really. You want to?"

" Hell yeah!" he said excitedly. " When do we start?"

" Every Friday." She said, turning around. " Unless you have something on. . .,"

" Nothing!" he almost squealed. " Nothing! Nothing!"

Shiho lifted her hand up to her cheek, wiping away the spit Shinichi had sprayed on her face. " Sorry." He said sheepishly.

" No bother." She said, turning around.

It was a short while when she turned around, noticing Shinichi observing her.

" Yes?" she asked curtly.

He bit his lip. " This might be a rather personal question," he started, and when he didn't see her do anything to stop him, he went on. " I just wanted to ask you. . ., have you always been this cold and quiet?"

Shiho would have slapped him if she didn't know him better. She just stoned out there for a moment, trying to find something inside herself to answer his question. But there wasn't. " I guess I'll tell you that next time." She said silently. Shinichi didn't like this answer by her very much, but decided not to delve too deep inside it. She started to make her way out to the door.

" Why are you helping me?" he blurted out.

She paused before turning around.

" You really DO ask a lot of questions." She said.

" I'm a detective, after all." He said, grinning.

She didn't return it.

" I'll see you tomorrow, Kudo-kun." She said and shut the door behind her.

He scratched his head.

" What did I do wrong?" he asked.

She took a deep breath before making her way to her car.

" Why are you helping me?"

She fingered in her purse for the car key.

She let out a small smirk from her lips.

" Why are you helping me?"

To tell the truth, she herself didn't know the answer to that question either.

END OF CHAPTER 2

Hey, I'm really enjoying writing this story. Did you all enjoy reading it? I hope you did. School's been really stressing me out lately, that I doubt that I can finish my other chapters on time. ' Haibara's Confession's newest chapter's coming out soon. Please be ready for it. Thank you. Please read and review this chapter! Thank you all very much, those who both read AND reviewed!


	3. Stuck

Here's chapter 3, where Shiho FINALLY teaches Shinichi. Expect kissing sooner or later. Most possibly sooner though. So please READ AND REVIEW!

CHAPTER 3

" What's wrong, Shinichi?" Ran asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

He blinked, turning to her direction. The three of them, him, Ran and Sonoko, were at the school canteen during recess, Shinichi's face was looking outside at the sky, almost totally not at the same table from the other two. " Yeah," Sonoko agreed, chomping her way through the meat bun in her hands. " You've barely said a word for the whole day, and it's almost half over. Are you okay?"

Ran looked at him worriedly. Was it because she had ditched him?

He noticed her gaze, and just grinned at her. " I'm fine." He said. " I'm just feeling kind of tired that's all. No biggie."

That was only half true. He barely slept a wink last night, thoughts of Miss Miyano's agreement, Ran breaking his heart swarming in his mind. He went back to his noodles, popping a slice of fishcake into his mouth. What kind of things would she teach him? He wondered as Ran and Sonoko stopped staring at him and finally went back to their previous conversation.

She had always seemed cold to him from the moment she stepped into the classroom until the very moment. But the way she smiled at him, the way she had wrapped her arms around him in comfort and the way she just stayed there in the classroom, allowing him to pour his guts out just affected him in a way he never thought he would before. He blushed and shook himself.

No.

That couldn't be it.

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" So how's Miss Miyano coping with the environment?"

Mister Maki rubbed his chin, biting his lip. " Well, you wouldn't say that she was hated," he said. " But you also wouldn't say that she was liked either. There are a lot of people who will love to make friends with her, but she just bounces their comments and greetings off like a bowling ball on a trampoline. It's almost as if she didn't want to make friends at all."

" Ah, yes." The principal said, nodding furiously. " That's true. I had the exact impression on her when I met her yesterday on the grass field found just above the soccer pitch."

" Soccer pitch?" Mister Maki asked, puzzled. " What was she doing there?"

The principal bit his lip, frowning. " I think she was looking at the game." He said. " But she asked me for the name of one of the players there. Kudo Shinichi."

Maki's eyes widened.

" Why?"

An unknown smile slid up upon the principal's lips.

" I guess she thought she saw him before." He said.

Maki raised his eyebrows, but no question came out of his lips.

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" Goodbye, Miyano-sensei!"

She nodded, and the class slowly walked out of her classroom. She dropped down to her chair, rubbing her sore temples. Teaching people from different levels certainly was tiring. That was one thing that she noticed that the teachers had a worse time off that the students, and that was that the students could sleep and slack anytime they were tired, whereas the teacher had to stay abrupt and alert, ready to catch anyone who was, ironically, sleeping or restless.

She looked at the clock.

Great.

It was the end of school.

Kudo Shinichi would be coming in the door any minute now. But most likely he forgot about it or was going to come late, so might as well give herself some shuteye before he came. And before she knew it, she had fallen fast asleep.

FLASHBACK

" _There's someone I would like you to meet!"_

_Shiho winced as the light flashed into her eyes, an unknown anger filling her as she started to yell and scream at the top of her lungs, watching the two of them wince at that. Just as her eyes got used to the light, the woman shut the door abruptly, leaving the room once again in total darkness._

_The woman shut the door quietly behind her, muttering to herself on how stupid she was. " I'm sorry, little Shiho." She said kindly. " I forgot that you weren't used to bright places. My apologies. But I just wanted you and little Shin-chan to meet each other for the first time."_

_Used to the darkness, she could see a small figure come out from behind the cheerful woman. He was wearing something somewhat ridiculous, a strange light blue jacket with dark short pants, a white shirt and a bow tie._

" _That went out of fashion centuries ago." Shiho said calmly and the cheerful woman stifled a laugh, as the boy seemed to collect what she had just said. His hand reached over to touch over, but she flinched and pushed herself backwards, out of his reach._

" _Shin-chan," the mother said, with a somewhat forced smile. " Remember what I told you about Shiho-chan?"_

" _Oh yeah," the boy said, nodding feverently._

_Shiho raised her eyebrows._

_The boy turned around to meet her, a grin on his face._

" _Nice to meet you, Shiho-san." He said._

END FLASHBACK

" Miyano-sensei?"

She opened her eyes groggily, noticing Shinichi staring right back at her.

" Oh." She said sleepily. " You."

He grinned at her and got to his feet. " Sorry if I kept you waiting." He said sheepishly. " Ran wanted me to follow her to the bookstore just nearby as she had a few assessment papers she wanted to do."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

" Why are you allowing yourself to be treated like her dog?" she asked.

" What?" he asked, hurt by her words.

" She already ditched you," she growled out, snappy all of a sudden. " She already said she didn't love you, so why try so hard to make her like you back?"

" Well excuse me!" he almost yelled. " Isn't that why I'm asking you to help me in the first place?"

" I'm helping a person in love," she said angrily. " Not some lovesick puppy, desperate for some girl who already ditched him to love him back."

He bit his lip.

She sighed and got up to her feet.

" Alright then," she said. " If you are ready for my class, we shall begin."

He blinked.

" How?" he asked.

" The first thing you can do to make Ran go back to your side," she said, ignoring his question almost totally, but answering it at the exact time. " Is to be distant with her. Clinging around her like some stupid little child is not going to make her love you back. Agreed?"

" No." he said defensively.

She rolled her eyes and sighed.

" Okay then." She said. " Who did you fall in love with? Your stupid fan girls or the ONLY girl you knew who didn't like you?"

He opened and shut his mouth before hanging his head.

" I'm glad that you agree." She said. She reached out and took out a blackboard marker, writing ' RAN' on it. " This is your sole focus. It's like shooting a soccer ball into the net. You just simply have to shoot it in, and you don't care if you get hurt on the way. It's the sole reason you're here, so you better be determined about it."

He nodded.

" So what do you want me to do?" he asked.

" Don't eat lunch with her, for once." She said briskly. " Eat with your other friends. That's simple enough, right?"

He grinned.

" Yeah." He said.

" Secondly," she said. " Don't sit with her in classrooms either. It's just wrong when the two of you sit together all the time. And you wonder why they tease that she's your wife. This could cause them to go up to you or her with questions like ' Have you guys been fighting?' or ' What's going on with you two?' This could then cause embarrassment, and she would soon start to try to be your friend as much as possible after that."

He just stared at her.

" How do you know stuff like this?" he asked.

She smirked.

" Wouldn't you like to know." She said. " But that's all you have to do for today. Is that simple enough?"

" Yeah" He said, getting up. " I get it."

" Good." She said. " I guess we could call it a day."

He nodded and walked out of the room with her, waiting for her to lock the doors up before the two of them made their way to the school elevator to the carpark. They stayed in silence for a moment before he raised his eyebrows at her accusingly.

" What?" she asked.

" Why were you so cold to us at the first lesson?" he asked, and she bit her lip, looking slightly offended. " I mean it wasn't like you couldn't be nice," he continued, flustered by her reaction. " You warmed up slightly in the second lesson, why did you let everyone get the bad impression from you straight away?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, obviously pondering on how to answer his question before she sighed, as they stepped into the lift, and she let the doors shut before them. " I was nervous." She said.

His eyes widened.

" NERVOUS?" he asked incredulously. " YOU?"

" Yes." She said, ignoring his over-dramatic reaction. " When I stepped in, I just got something like stage-fright. I almost stoned out, but I carried on."

" You're a really good actress." He said.

" Thank you." She said.

They stood there in the lift in silence for a while before Shinichi's eyes narrowed.

" Is it just me," he said slowly. " Or have we been on the same level for too long a time?"

Suddenly the power shut out and the light faded.

" Darn." Shiho cursed.

END OF CHAPTER 3

All right, here's chapter 3.

Please read and review.

Thanks for all the kind reviews.

THANK YOU.


	4. Votes

Sorry for the long delay. Please read and review.

CHAPTER 4

Shinichi looked at his watch tiredly, groaning at the fact that it had already passed three hours. Shiho clicked her tongue, using her left hand to flap at herself aimlessly, in desperate hope from melting out in a pool of sweat from where she was sitting. He pulled out his hand phone once more and switched it on, praying that it would at least hold out for two to three minutes, but as soon as the light appeared on the screen, it faded out just as quickly.

" Brilliant." He muttered, stuffing it back into his pocket.

Shiho let out a whistle and folded her knees, staring up straight at the ceiling. " What time is it now, Kudo?" she asked.

He looked at his watch again.

" It's two in the morning." He grunted.

" Really?" she asked, cocking her brow.

" No," he said sheepishly. " It's just nine."

" The following day?"

" The following day."

He sighed and dug into his bag, fingering around in the contents when he cringed. " What's wrong?" she asked.

" Sonoko left saltwater in my bag." He said, pulling out a small-lidded cup from inside. " I guess she thought she was funny."

He half expected her to groan or raise her eyebrows like a normal teacher would have done, but she cocked her brow before rubbing her chin, thinking for a minute. Then she sprang to life, snapping her fingers so forcefully that Shinichi jumped.

" What?" he half-gasped, half-shouted.

" Give it to me." She said, and Shinichi handed it over. She took out a pair of spectacles from her bag, and unscrewed the lid off the cup of saltwater. Shinichi raised his eyebrows at her, finding out that it was best not to comment about the situation. She fingered around in her purse before sighing. She looked up at Shinichi so suddenly that he jumped again.

" Do you have a retainer?" she asked.

" Huh?" he asked, puzzled.

" A retainer." She repeated. " Now."

" Oh." He said. " Okay."

He pulled it out of his mouth, handing it over to her when she raised her eyebrows, disgusted. " No." she said. " Put it into the saltwater."

He opened his mouth to argue, but did what he was told.

" Now." She said pleasantly, sounding almost like she always did when she taught in class. Her hand phone was held in her other hand. " First we suspend your retainer in the saltwater solution like so." She said clearly. " Then we touch one of the earpieces of my wirerim glasses on the contacts on the bottom of the phone and dangle the other earpiece in the saltwater solution like so. Still with me?"

" I'm stuck in a lift with you." He said airlessly.

She chose to ignore that.

" Then we drop a coin inside, which results in a chemical reaction which will be strong enough for you to make a three-minute phone call."

His eyes widened, a grin appearing on his face.

" Brilliant!" he gasped.

" I know." She said. " Now call the lift operator to get us out."

He did, and he put the phone down soon after.

" Well?" Shiho asked testingly, continuously fanning herself. " What happened?"

" He'll be here in an hour." Shinichi said shortly.

They didn't talk much after that.

The two of them just sat there in the dark lift, no light appearing expect for the small beam of light shining from the light bulb above. Shinichi cleared his throat and his eyes traced over to Shiho restlessly before his eyes widened, noticing her unbutton the shirt she was wearing to shrug off the blouse off her shoulders to reveal a skimpy tank top underneath.

He gulped.

God she was gorgeous.

All of the boys in the school would kill him if they found out about this.

She raised her eyebrows at his leer.

" Don't get any ideas." She said warningly.

He blushed and looked away and she chuckled.

She looked up at the ceiling for a while.

" Do you have any siblings?" she asked and Shinichi stopped picking at the mat below their feet to look at her.

" No." he said. " It's just me."

She nodded.

" You?" he asked.

" I have a sister." She said simply.

" Younger?"

" Older."

Shinichi smirked. " Is she as hot as you?" he asked.

He almost slapped himself for saying that at the surprised expression on Shiho's face. " I'm hot?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He sighed, knowing he was at the point of no return.

" Like you wouldn't believe."

Her eyes widened.

He cocked his brow.

" You didn't know?" he asked.

" No." she replied. " I. . ."

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" _Nice room." The boy said._

_She didn't answer._

_He smiled at her and sat down next to her, in which she flinched. " Why don't you talk?" he asked._

_She licked her dry lips._

" _It's unreasonable to make unnecessary conversation." She said._

_He scratched his head._

" _What's unnesasareey?"_

" _Never mind."_

_He brought his small hand to stroke her cheek and surprisingly she didn't move away. A small grin broke out on his face. " You're really pretty." He stated._

_She bit her lip and blushed, looking away._

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She stoned out.

" Miss Miyano?" Shinichi asked, and she jumped.

" Nothing." She muttered. " Nothing. It's just that. . .I never expected myself to be attractive in any sort."

His eyes immediately skimmed over to that skimpy tanktop she had on.

" I find that hard to believe." He said.

" What?" she asked.

" Nothing."

Silence.

" You're really good at soccer." She said.

" Thanks."

" My mother tried to teach me soccer once."

" Oh? Did it work?"

" No. I kicked the soccer ball and I fell backwards."

He looked at her.

She looked back.

And they started to laugh.

He smiled as he heard her. It was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. Like being able to hear a bird sing on the first of May. She wiped an eye and grinned. " I haven't laughed in a long time." She said silently.

He raised his eyebrows.

" What were you, a problem child?"

" Sort of, yeah." She said. " But it was mostly because of my dad."

Shinichi remained quiet.

" He used to lock me up in dark room and keep me there for days and nights. Some sort of stimulation thing, I don't know."

" He's weird."

" Amen to that."

Silence.

" I hated the light." She said.

" I'll bet you did."

" There was one time when a boy got sent into my room." She said.

Shinichi smiled.

" How old were you?"

" I. . ."

" HEY, ANYONE THERE?"

They stopped talking abruptly.

" Yeah!" Shinichi yelled back.

Shiho just sat there with her arms folded, shutting her eyes.

Shinichi turned around and frowned.

It was just then when he noticed that there were a Hell lot of things he didn't know about her. And it wasn't like he didn't want to.

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The next day of school could have been call the fantasy of all fans.

It could also be called the worst day in the world for Shiho and Shinichi.

How should I start?

Okay.

One bright sunny morning, Shinichi and Shiho walked into the school gate to find a huge crowd around the gate doors. Shiho raised her eyebrows and walked over, closely followed by Shinichi, who had a meat bun in his hands. There was a bulletin on the wall, which was laced with well, lace, huge block letters all over the huge sheet of paper.

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR ONCE AGAIN! THE CHOOSING OF THE CROWN KING AND CROWN QUEEN O THE SCHOOL! YOU ALL HAVE CHOSEN THREE WEEKS AGO AND HERE ARE OUR TOP SIX FINALISTS FROM KING AND QUEEN STANDINGS

KING

Kudo Shinichi (Soccer team, High School detective.)

Yoro Maki (Tennis hottie)

Sanshriyuki Mati (Water polo. No words needed.)

QUEEN

Ran Mouri (Sweet angel, plus kicks ass. Great body included.)

Yikida Sakura (Chess team. Quiet and loveable.)

Shiho Miyano (Hot ass teacher. Smart and beautiful.)

COME ON DOWN ON THE THIRD AT TWO. THAT'S TWO. COME ON DOWN TO VOTE!

Shiho gaped.

" What the Hell?" she gasped, and Shinichi laughed.

" Told you you were hot."

" That's just plain stupid!" she yelled. " Plus embarrassing!"

He raised his eyebrows at the three schoolmates whop were taking pictures of her from behind. Then he shifted his attention back to Shiho. " Come on, it's fun! Plus, you don't have to do anything. You just have to sit down at your seat and wave. It's that simple. I do it every year."

" Do you win?" she asked.

He smirked.

" But what if nobody chooses me?" she almost whined in a tone so not like her. " It's embarrassing."

He grinned as a boy tripped and fell from behind her to try to get a look up her skirt.

" Trust me." He said. " You wouldn't lose. At least not by much."

She opened her mouth to argue but at that moment Ran and Sonoko ran over, Ran blushing like the sun. " See, I told you you would get chosen!" Sonoko laughed, patting her on the back. Ran blushed, but smiled brightly at Shinichi. " Hey Shinichi!" she said. " I was thinking of going over to Metro later to get some stuff. Would you mind to come with me?"

Shinichi would have agreed if it wasn't for Shiho who nudged him in the ribs.

Then he remembered.

Okay then.

" Sorry." He said. " I'm going out with the guys."

Ran looked crestfallen.

Then she smiled.

" Never mind then." She said. " See you later!"

He smiled and waved goodbye.

Sonoko raised her eyebrows at him, before staring at Shiho.

Shiho just stared back.

" Hey, remember to vote for Ran, Shinichi." She said, her eyes leaving Shiho's.

" Okay." Shinichi said.

Glaring at Shiho, she walked off.

Shiho smirked.

" That hurt so bad." Shinichi said sadly. " Why can't I just help her?"

" Because," Shiho started.

" I know." He said glumly. " I need to be distant."

" Glad to see you catching on." Shiho said.

Just then three boys came over, waving at Shiho jollily. " We're voting for you, Miss Miyano." They said gleefully and she smiled.

" Thanks." She said, deeply grateful.

" We don't want Ran to win again." One of them said. " Although she IS rather hot, but I hate listening to Sonoko brag about it."

" I see." Shiho said. " What's the prize for the top two winners."

The three of them grinned, and walked off.

" THAT, Miss Miyano, is our little secret. The prizes have changed, Shinichi. The prizes have changed."

And they walked off.

Shiho raised her eyebrows for the umpteenth time.

" What was THAT?" she asked.

Shinichi just shrugged.

" I don't know."

And by the way that guy had said the prizes had changed. . .

He didn't like it.

He didn't like it one bit.

END OF CHAPTER 4

Wow, long time no update. Please read and review this, this took some MAJOR hard work. Don't worry about Haibara's Confessions, it's coming along fine. Just have three more scenes to do and I'm good to go. Marrying Haibara is doing good too. I'm on the flashback at the moment, but for the meantime I'm stuck in the sand of tiredness. God help me, I'm tired.

But here's the next chapter, and hopefully I can have the next chapter up quickly too. There we will have some MASSIVE competition between Shiho and Ran. Not literally, but in votes. Who will emerge victorious? Remember, I don't always side Shiho all the time. But I don't really like Ran much either.

Please look forward to reading chapter 5!


	5. Speedy confessions

Thanks for all the reviews. Due to some e-mails I have gotten about certain complaints, I will now be answering reviews. It's interesting; I have never actually done that before. . .But whatever. Here's chapter 5.

CHAPTER 5

" So what are the scores so far?"

Yorokobi, one of the people in charge of the voting schemes sighed as he pulled out a piece of paper from under the huge stack of tiny slips, waiting until Jihiro had sat down on the chair opposite Yorokobi before continuing.

" For the men, Shinichi is in the lead with 104, followed closely behind by Yoro with 92, and finally lagging behind is Sanshriyuki with 43."

Jihiro let out a whistle, grabbing a meat bun on the table before munching into it, sighing continuously with every bite he took, and Yorokobi had to admit that it was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen. " Yeah, I never DID like Sanshriyuki." He said, taking a sip of water. " I was a fan of his swimming for a few weeks back. Asked him for an autograph or something, but he just sneered and told me to eat my own pants. Like it had anything to do with an autograph."

Yorokobi laughed, grabbing the meat bun found next to Jihiro's, and bit into it, looking down on the list. " For the ladies, leading is once again Ran Mouri with 124." He went on, just as Jihiro choked on his water. " Next to her is Shiho, with 121, and finally is Sakura with 112."

" Ran Mouri?" Jihiro gaped. " She's winning again?"

" Well, you can't blame her." Yorokobi said, shrugging. " She IS very popular with the boys and girls alike. Plus, she has a sweet ass."

" I know that," Jihiro said tensely. " But I believe that Miss Miyano should be able to lead her. After all, she's cool and has a personality. Plus, she's funny. Ran is cool and kicks ass, but she's not even half as funny as Shiho."

" Funny?" Yorokobi asked. " She looks cold. I saw her in the recess hall just two days ago. Barely nodded as I greeted her."

" That's what she's like on the outside." Jihiro said carelessly. " But I'm in her form class, and I can tell you she's funny. She's sweet, beautiful, AND She doesn't try too hard. Plus, she doesn't act like a queen around Shinichi.'

" Oh yeah, Ran dumped him, right?"

" Bingo." Jihiro said.

" Maybe it's better if Shiho wins. Maybe I'll vote for her too."

" My feelings exactly."

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" A solid has a constant shape and weight." Shiho said, almost rolling her eyes in boredom. From teaching Shinichi's class to 11-year old kids was sort of depressing, but after many hours of this sort of drastic change, she got steadily used to it. " And obviously for a liquid that is different, can anybody tell me what are the definition of a liquid, in that other case?"

A young boy raised up his hand.

" Yoshi, is it?" she asked, nodding at him.

" That's right." He said, then he paused.

" Well?" she asked, patiently. " You don't raise your hand, and not answer the question."

" I'll get to that." He said excitedly. " But I just wanted you to know that the whole class voted for you for the Queen."

An unknown blush appeared on her face, but quickly ceased herself. " I don't think that that's relevant to the subject of matter, Yoshi." She said tightly, and the rest of the class cracked up with laughter.

" We just thought you were much prettier than Ran Mouri, Miss Miyano." Said Mirai, one of the girls in the front row. " We just all agreed one day that we wanted you to beat Ran, allowing her to get second for the first time."

Shiho had to bite her lip to prevent herself from smiling. ' These kids are just so unknowing.' She thought. ' But I thank them. From the bottom of my heart.'

" Thank you." She said, smiling shyly.

Several of them hid smirks.

" You're smiling, Miyano-sensei." One of the guys said, pointing at her. " You never smiled in front of us before!"

She blinked.

" I didn't?" she said.

" No." Yoshi said. " You should more often though. You look prettier when you do."

Her cheeks unknowingly reddened.

" He's had a crush on you since you entered the classroom." The guy next to her said, winking at her.

" Mou!" Yoshi said, embarrased, but certainly wasn't denying it.

Shiho blinked.

" Trash Ran Mouri, Miss Miyano!" a girl called out from the backseat, followed by cheers and claps. Shiho was speechless. She never thought that they wouldn't hate her, and to top that, but they liked her.

They actually liked her.

" I will," she started, and several people clapped at that.

" Providing you all pass up your homework on time."

Her last sentence was met with few groans, and thunderous applause.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" Good luck, Ran."

Ran smiled at the boy as she and Sonoko walked down the hallways towards Shiho's class. Sonoko was about to comment to Ran about how she was sure that Ran would win once more when she raised her eyebrows at the empty placing beside her and Ran. " Hey, Shinichi wasn't at our table during recess, Ran." She said, and Ran nodded, biting her lip. " I know." She said. " I wonder if he's mad at me for rejecting him or something."

Sonoko snorted.

" No." she said. " He isn't that sort of person."

" He isn't?" Ran asked. " But I wanted to ask him to follow me to the market today, I wanted to get some things for my dad, and he rejected me."

Sonoko opened her mouth to say something, before she snapped it shut.

" What?" Ran asked.

" Isn't that Shinichi right there?"

Ran looked up, and noticed Shinichi and another girl walking in their direction, the girl laughing at a joke that Shinichi had just said. Ran felt a strange pang of jealousy, but she just shook it away.

But Sonoko, however, didn't take it as well as Ran did.

" Hey!" she yelled. " Shinichi!"

Shinichi barely batted an eye as he muttered something to her, and she nodded, walking off. He walked over to them, a grin on his face. " What seems to be the problem, Sonoko?" he asked.

" What the Hell was that?" she asked, pointing her hand in the direction of the girl.

" Oh, her?" he said. " Oh yeah. Her. Yeah. She's a female."

" Don't be funny, smartass." Sonoko said. " Who was that?"

" Just a girl I asked out." He said, shrugging, nudging past them.

" Where are you going?" Ran blurted out.

" Going to get a snack before I get to class." He said, not even looking back.

Sonoko and Ran just stood there, staring.

" Come on, ignore that ass." Sonoko said, grabbing Ran's hand.

Ran turned her head to watch Shinichi disappear behind the wall before she followed Sonoko towards the classroom.

Shinichi turned, making sure that he was not in their sight before leaning against the pillar, wiping the sweat off his face.

" How did I do?" he asked.

Shiho appeared from behind the wall, smirking.

" Not bad." She said, grinning. " For a moment there, I almost thought that you were really over her."

Shinichi moaned and nodded.

" Hardest thing I ever had to do." He said.

" WE all have to get over someone," she said, shrugging. " It's just that yours had to be with her."

Shinichi nodded, scratching his head.

" Well, we'd better make it to class." He said.

She just stood there for a while.

" Hey, Kudo." She said, and he stopped.

" Yeah?" he asked.

" Do you mind if I give you another class tonight?"

He raised his eyebrows, but nodded eagerly. " Sure." He said.

She smiled.

" What are your weak points?" she asked.

He blinked.

He had never thought of that before.

" I don't know." He said. " I guess I wasn't that good in realizing what a woman wanted."

" Body language." She said.

" Yeah." He said.

" What else?"

He scratched his chin.

Then he blushed.

" What?" she asked, almost coyly.

" Er, I don't think you can help in this." He said.

" Try me." She said.

" No, I. . ."

" TRY me."

He coughed.

" I. . .I was always weak as a. . ."

He coughed again.

" Kisser?" she finished for him, enjoying his face turning from white to blue to a final red. " I should have known." She said, grinning.

He looked away.

She thought for a while.

" Meet me in my class after school." She said, walking onwards.

He looked up.

No, she wouldn't. . .would she?

She smirked, walking onwards, listening his footsteps catch up with her.

" Why are you helping me?" came his voice in her head again.

That was strange.

There was no answer to that.

Unless that meant that she was. . .

She turned around to look at him, and he smiled.

She looked away.

No.

That was impossible.

Was it?

But there was only one way to find out.

And it was to help him out.

No turning back.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

" Nice shot! Kudo!"

Shinichi smirked as he ran back to the end of the pitch to defend, enjoying the cheers of his name from both the males and females alike. That was the main reason why he loved Physical Education so much. It was one of the few things in life that he actually liked, ranging from sports to. . .

" Nice shot, Shinichi!" Came Ran's voice.

Girls.

He forced himself to play mute as he ignored her, stepping foward to guarthe opponents. Ran, who was waving her hand at him, stopped all of a sudden. She bit her lip as she turned sideways to Sonoko, who had just hit an amazing spike to the other end of the volleyball court. " Did you see that, Ran?" she said excitedly. " Did you see the magnificance of my play? Did y. . ."

She stopped in mid-sentence.

" What's the matter?" she asked.

Ran shook her head, getting back in the game.

" Nothing." she mumbled.

Sonoko raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

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Shinichi high-fived with Yoro, who happily patted him on the back. " Nice block, Kudo!" he said grinning, while Shinichi grinned back. Yoro opened his mouth to say something, when he nudged Shinichi in the ribs.

" Kudo!" he hissed. " Look! Miyano-sensei!"

Shinichi turned around. Indeed she was popular. There were boys swarmed around her, hands in their pockets, almost drooling on her skirt. He looked away, just in time to block a goal from the opponent, amid cheers from around.

Shiho noticed the sound, and looked down.

Her eyes followed to Shinichi, who was laughing as he got patted on the back.

A faint blush tinged on her cheeks.

But she shook herself, and walked off.

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It was the end of the day.

Shiho nodded goodbye to the students who waved at her as they walked out the classroom, and sat down on her seat, twirling herself silently in her chair and shut her eyes, ready to get herself some rest before meeting up with Shinichi once more for another class. It was not until she heard a small cough when she noticed a student standing right before her.

She blinked.

" How long have you been standing here?" she asked.

" Pretty long." he said, shrugging.

She raised her eyebrows as she suddenly remembered who he was. He was Sanshriyuki, one of the three students voted to be the ' King' of the school year. She swirled her chair and turned to face him, crossing her legs. " You aren't here to ask me to help you out in the competition, are you?" she asked accusingly. " I mean, I'm not one who likes to cheat in. . ."

" No," he said, rushing his words out. " It's not."

" Oh?" she asked, suddenly interested. " Then what?"

He blushed as he noticed her tongue slowly peeking out of her mouth to lick her dry lips, wetting them considerably. It was very unlike him to blush; beleive me, he was one of the most cool and collected students in the entire school. But there was one weakness of his, and he was almost ashamed to admit it.

Her.

In fact, he had fallen in love with her the first time he had met her, but didn't dare say anything. She just watched him, never breaking eye contact with him.

" I love you, Miyano-sensei." he blurted out.

END OF CHAPTER 5

Wow, this could spell trouble. Expect Shinichi/Shiho moments in the next one, I'm thinking of making them kiss in the next chapter, so hopefully there will be no protests. (Laughs). This is not just a a love triangle, but a love square, in fact. Shiho, Shinichi, Ran, and now Sanshriyuki. Do not worry, Shiho will not fall for this water polo dude, but I have this idea for him and Sonoko to work together for stuff. . .Still thinking about it. But thanks to all my reviewers! The most you review, the faster I update! Cheerio!

_Foxyfire. . . Well, be sure to bring a jug of water next to you when you read my future chapters. (Laughs) One word. eBay. And I'll see you soon too._

_fanfic maniac. . . .Well, you could say that in a way. But I just did what you wanted right? Guess what the two of them are going to do. J_

_anime-obsession260. . . .Hehehehehe, thank you. Love your story Silent Life by the way. When will chapter 4 come out?_

_Sacred Alliance. . . .Really? I always thought it was possible. I read it somewhere in a book. But it's cool, no matter what, right?_

_Vash. . . .Haha. Love your short reviews. Never goes further than 6 words._

_SN 1987A. . . .Yeah, I know Shinichi doesn't have retainers, but I couldn't make them pop out of thin air, right? Plus, I suspect he has some hiding away somewhere. Where else can he get that bloody great smile of his?_

_Wayupi. . . .Thanks for voting, however it may be. (Laughs)_

_Crystal Snowflakes. . . .Thanks. Good luck to your story._

_Genjy0-Sanz0. . . .Thank you. Thank you very much. (Bad Elvis imitation)_


	6. The Start of a New War

This is chapter 6 everyone. Sorry for the long wait, but my computer conked out on me, and I had to go repair it. But in the meantime, I'm using my old monitor, and it's so huge that it fills out almost the entire table which is supposed to hold both the computer AND the keyboard. The keyboard is on my lap at the moment. Although I look REALLY REALLY stupid at the moment, I'll just live with it. Reviews spur me on, so thank you all of you. Okay, so enough blabbing. Here's chapter 6. Enjoy. The showdown of Ran and Shiho begins.

CHAPTER 6

Shiho's facial expression changed from shock to amusement then finally ending with the usual smirk of hers. Sanshriyuki blinked in surprise. It was simply amazing that she was able to change her emotions so many times in just less than a few seconds flat. Shiho uncrossed her legs.

" Thank you." She said, bowing.

Silence.

His eyes widened.

" And. . .?" he prompted on, hopeful.

" . . .Thank you very much?" she finished, dashing away his hopes, the small smile on his lips slowly sliding off his face. Shiho, feeling a tiny ounce of sympathy got to her feet and patted him on the shoulder, and he looked up at her in surprise. " I'm honoured that you have a crush on me. But as I have no current interests in you, or any other students inside the school."

He winced.

She certainly was a woman who cut to the core of her words.

He looked away, blushing.

" But I love you, Miss Miyano."

A bitter smile spread across her face.

" Sorry." She replied.

There was an utter dull silence for the next few seconds, expect for the dull whirr of the fan blades.

" Miss Miyano. . ." he started, but was cut short at the sound of the sliding door opening, and both their heads whipped over to face the sound of the noise, and there stood Kudo Shinichi. Sanshriyuki's eyes widened as his eyes slowly moved from Shinichi to Shiho.

" . . .What's Kudo doing here?" he asked, trying his best to sound neutral.

" Remedial classes." The both of them, top-notch liars, said without a trace of hesitation. Sanshriyuki looked at Shinichi, then Shiho many times before clenching his teeth. It was remarkable how the two of them said it so plainly, yet seemed so fake at the exact same time.

He grabbed his bag, and walked towards Shinichi's direction.

" Goodbye, Miss Miyano." He muttered.

" Goodbye." She said.

Sanshriyuki glared at Shinichi for a second before shutting the door behind him. Shinichi frowned at the door, which now currently held the gap between him at Sanshriyuki. His head turned and looked at Shiho with raised eyebrows. " It's nothing." She said in an offhand sort of way. " Now lock the door, we don't want anybody walking in during class, don't we?"

He blushed and snapped the lock shut.

It seemed like an awfully naughty thing to do at the moment.

" Alright then," she said briskly, that calm and crisp voice she always used in the regular classroom. " You told me your. . .faults, and here I am to help you correct them. You first said that you were not good at looking or DOING. . .the languages of seduction?" There was not a quaver of nervousness in her voice, but Shinichi was almost fainting with embarrassment and nervousness.

She smirked.

" That's nothing to be shy about." She said, and he just blushed harder. She walked closer to him; so close that their noses were just inches apart, and closed in on him, pressing her lips on his ear, nibbling on it. He groaned out loud, and she stepped away, grinning.

" Well, you really ARE bad at it."

His face reddened.

" It's just because you had so much experience with it."

She raised her eyebrows.

" What are you talking about?" she asked. " This is my first time too."

He almost smashed his head into the wall behind him in shock.

" No WAY!" he gasped. " How the Hell did you get so. . .GOOD?"

She blinked.

" Good?" she asked.

His face just reddened, if possible, even more. He didn't want to tell her this, but he wasn't one who got so heavy near girls. Sure he was well-liked, but the only girl he was usually with was Ran, likewise by Sonoko, and none of them were able to make him feel this way before.

Plus, the way she moved around, she acted like a minx.

" Never mind." He muttered.

But she was looking thoughtful. " I guess it's like Science." She said carefully. " You just have to think of the reactions and actions, and move by the way you want to do. Plus, I studied the human body from a young age, and it's grown to be quite useful in a short way."

She said this peacefully.

Not to mention, fast.

" So. . ." he said slowly. " It's textbook?"

She nodded. " Well, shall we get on with it?"

He blinked.

" With what?"

" Well, to get you from squirming around, that's for one." She said, almost groaning at the spaced out expression on his face. " A girl wouldn't like it when she's kissing a guy and he's wriggling around like a plate of jello."

He would have laughed if he wasn't so squirmy around her, and just let out a sound like a tired bark. She raised her eyebrows.

Then she smiled.

" Relax." She said. " Just relax."

He managed to smile.

" Bingo." She said.

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Sanshriyuki walked on the way home dejectedly, almost growling at a girl who said goodbye to him, but just nudged her out of the way and walked on. The girl smirked and walked up to him, stepping in his way. He looked up, glaring at her. " I'm not in a good mood," he said, straining his voice to sound calm. " I don't want to beat up a girl, so GET OUT OF MY WAY."

But it surprised him that she was still smiling.

" You got ditched by Miyano-sensei, didn't you?"

He blinked.

" Yeah." He said in amazement. " How did you know?"

" I know everything that's going around," she said impressively. " But the fact that I'm so keen in this one that I decided that I would help you out."

He scowled.

" I don't need your help." He said, brushing past her.

But Sonoko was still smirking as she watched him go.

" Do you know who I am?" she asked.

" No." He spat.

" Sonoko." She said, and he stopped.

He turned, the strangest and most un-cool expression on his face yet for many years to come. " YOU'RE Sonoko?" he asked.

" Yeah." She said, grinning.

" Sonoko the Destroyer?"

" That's the one."

" Sonoko the Break-Up artist?"

" Yep."

" Sonoko the. . .Cupid?"

She smirked.

" Apparently I'm known in the school now." She said.

His mouth opened and shut. Were the Heavens on his side too?

Then he stopped.

" Why are you helping me?"

She grinned. " Great question. Because I want Kudo Shinichi to end up with my friend, Ran Mouri. Whether the both of them like it or not. I will help you, and in the end of it, you will get Shiho and Shinichi will get Ran. Fair to you?"

She stretched out her hand.

He took it.

A final smile appeared on his lips.

" Okay." He said. " Let the games roll."

She smirked, once again. " Let the games roll."

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Shiho was looking in a book.

Shinichi was rolling his eyes.

" Oh come on, Miss Miyano." He said.

She raised her eyebrows, and snapped the book shut, patting it on the table. " Hey, this is called research." She said. " It's better than a person who squirms and groans while he watches someone do research."

His mouth opened and shut.

" Darn," he muttered.

She smirked and walked up to him.

" Alright," she said. " Let's begin with something simple and straightforward."

He blinked.

" Such as?" he asked curiously.

" Kissing." She said in a matter-of-fact voice.

He almost hit his head against the wall once more.

" WHAT?" he spluttered.

She stepped back slightly at the noise.

" What?" she echoed, in a MUCH less loud voice. " We talked about it just now."

" I KNOW," he said, stuttering, losing his cool totally.

She put on a slightly hurt face.

" Not that I don't want to," he said quickly, and as her eyebrows rose, he finished. " But I don't dream crazily about it either,"

Her eyebrows rose higher.

" Not that I dream of it AT ALL!" he sputtered again. " But. . ."

" Whatever." She said. " I'm not fond of kissing students too, but I promised you, and thus I have to bring into agreements, am I not right?"

" Yeah." He said.

Then at that very second he looked at her, and she looked right back.

Something passed through this glance.

Something.

Something.

" _Shin-chan, this is Shiho."_

" All right then." Said Shiho, shaking herself faster than Shinichi did. Shinichi frowned. What was that? " If you would just stop shaking. . .yes. Stop shaking. I swear, dried leaves are tougher than you. Imagine that I'm Ran."

He blinked. That seemed simple enough.

" Alright." He said.

Her lips were just centimeters away from his, her eyes slowly shutting. His eyes widened as she edged closer, his hands unknowingly draping around her tight waist. This was it. He had gotten closer to her than anyone in the school had ever did. He bit his lip. Unknowing to himself, he had almost been looking forward to this like any other boy in the school. He gulped.

" Miss Miyano. . ." he started, but was stopped by the motion of her lips pressing against his. He stiffened, feeling her arms wrap around his neck, and slowly and slowly he got used to the feel of a girl's lips against his. His hands dropped down to just below her waist, lifting her shirt up slightly so he could feel her soft skin.

' She's so soft.' He marveled. ' How can someone who looks so hard be so soft?'

She whimpered against his lips.

No matter how experienced she seemed, this was the first time she had ever kissed someone. And just as she felt his tongue prodding against her lips, she gasped in shock, allowing his tongue to swoop inside. ' Who the Hell said that he was not good at this should be shot.' She thought, enjoying the kiss immensely. His left hand drew from her waist to her hair, threading his fingers through it. He pushed her against the wall, the table behind her moving slightly, the pencils dropping on the floor. He kissed her continuously, breathing into her, not ever wanting to let go of her. She whimpered, and moaned in his arms, grunts and groans escaping his lips as her sweet soft lips tasted against his. All he wanted to do to her was just carry her in his arms and kiss her until she didn't know what was what. But she was a teacher, after all. His senior.

His teacher.

He pulled away, leaving both of them breathless, panting for breath.

Silence.

" Well, you aren't BAD." She said, smirking, folding her arms.

But Shinichi just stood there.

Something happened there once more.

Her lips tasted familiar.

It was almost as if. . .

She raised her eyebrows.

" What?" she asked.

He shook his head. " Nothing." He mumbled.

" Well, that's it for today." She said, trying to get her heart beating to normal again. " I need to get back home for some sleep. Sakura told me there was something changed in the KING and QUEEN. Besides the prize, of course."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows.

" That can't be good."

" No it can't." she said, grinning. " Good night, Kudo. Don't get trapped in a lift again."

He grinned back.

" You don't want to talk." He said, and shut the door behind him.

She waited until his footsteps faded into darkness when she sat down on the chair behind her. She pulled out her handphone from her pocket, and dialed a familiar phone number. A number which nobody would answer.

A phone that nobody would pick up.

The user was dead as a doornail.

But she spoke anyway.

" Hello, Shuichi, how are you." She said softly, nothing answering her call but the dull thud of the ringing of the phone.

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It was the next day that could be called the day where all the boys and girls in the school rejoiced.

It could also be called the day that Shiho hated everyone in the world.

Let me start over, once again, shall I?

Shiho Miyano walked over to the school bulletin board, and raised her eyebrows at the gleeful boys who left it, staring at her intently, undressing her with their eyes. She nodded at Shinichi, who nodded back, slapping his head at the news. She looked up and her mouth fell open.

" Oh my God." She muttered.

WIN A DATE WITH THE QUEEN AND KING OF THE YEAR! INSTEAD OF JUST COUNTING UP THE VOTES, AN AUCTION WILL BE STARTED FOR A DATE WITH ANY ONE OF THE SIX PARTICIPANTS.

" That's just nasty." Shinichi muttered.

THE KING AND QUEEN CHOSEN WILL BE THE TWO PEOPLE WHO GET BIDDED THE MOST AMOUNT OF MONEY IN TOTAL.

" Interesting." Sonoko said, smirking, Ran by her side.

Shinichi ignored them, nudging Shiho in the ribs.

" Look," he said, grinning. " The scores so far."

THE VOTES SO FAR:

SHINICHI KUDO. . . . .379 votes

YORO. . . . .302

SANSHRIYUKI. . . . 301

" Lost to you again." Yoro said cheerfully, patting him on the back.

Shinichi grinned back.

But unfortunately, Sanshriyuki was not half as happy to losing to him. He scowled, glaring at Shinichi. Just as Shinichi turned to face him, he looked away. And as he did, his gaze met Sonoko's, who winked.

He smiled.

Shiho looked at the woman's side.

SAKURA. . .169 votes

" Well, I guess she did relatively well," Shinichi said, but stopped in mid-sentence. Everyone was looking at the bottom two names, the smile sliding off his face. There were mutters and grins, and groans at the same time.

SHIHO. . . . 400 votes

RAN. . . . 400 votes

" A tie," Yoro whispered.

Ran turned to look at Shinichi, then bit her lip as he leaned over and patted Shiho on the back. Shiho noticed this, and Ran looked away, blushing. She let out a small smirk. ' Look who's jealous now, Ran.' She whispered to herself.

" Nicely done! Miyano-sensei!" Sakura said happily, patting her on the back.

It was not like Shiho to smile.

It was not like her to show any expressions at all.

But she couldn't help it.

" Thank you." She said, a true smile on her lips.

Shinichi watched her out of the corner of his eye.

Several boys and girls were around her, wishing her luck.

He blushed.

END OF CHAPTER 6

Here it is, the long awaited chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it, because I enjoyed writing it. The war between Shinichi and Sanshriyuki, Shiho and Ran, and Shiho and Sonoko has just begun. Whoa, I'm watching too much Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars too much. ' The war has just begun!' says Yoda. And so do I. Will have a surprise ending, so keep reading me! Most likely will end at around chapter 10. It's probable. So please keep reading and reviewing me! Thank you!

_Motosuwa Hideki. . . . . .Well, I'm not going to tell you. (Laughs) Hopefully I'm surprise you with the ending._

_YumeTakato. . . . . .Yep. Here I am. Haha._

_Neil. . . . . .You're absolutey correct. Doh, you're good. There will be an arugement with Shiho and Shinichi soon. SPOILER!_

_Clau. . . . .Awww, thank you. It's reviews like these which spur me on. (Promise I'll keep writing until the day I die. :D)_

_anime-onsession260. . . . . . . .Thank you, you do too. Please make chapter 5 out, up and ready. I'll be sure to read it._

_Adilla. . . . .(Simles) Yep, we are here to support her, aren't we?_

_SN1987A. . . . . .Thank you. I made it myself. Hahaha. What about a love polygon?_

_Vash. . . . . .You're welcome._

_FoxyFire. . . . . .Well, here I am. Thanks for the reviews._

_fanfic maniac. . . . .Sorry if I took too long. My com died on me. In my arms too. . . . hahahahahahahaha.. . . . ._

_Crystal Snowflakes. . . . .Haha, yeah. That got me too._

_wayupi. . . . .Very observant. . . .I just noticed that too. Yeah, I like it a lot. That's kind of a cool name, because it's easy to remember._

_Silver Sky Magician. . . . I'm not saying anything. . . . keep quessing. (Gilderoy Lockhart wink)_


	7. Shiho's Story

Hope you like this.

It took A LOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTT of time to write. Well, please read and review me if you want me to update faster! Thanks and please look foward to the ending chapters!

CHAPTER 7

" Welcome back! Shiho!"

Shiho gave a weary smile to her sister as she sat down on the chair behind her, exhausted. Her sister walked over to the stove and turned it on, humming a happy tune. " What would you like for dinner, sis?" Akemi asked happily.

Shiho raised her eyebrows.

" You seem happy." she said.

" And why shouldn't I be?" Akemi said happily.

" I don't know." Haibara said simply. " Why should you be?"

" I heard about you tying in votes to the most popular girl in school, Shiho." Akemi said, ignoring Shiho's past statement.

Shiho flushed slightly.

" Who told you that?" she asked.

" Oh, I didn't even need to ask." Akemi said, smiling as she fingered around in the cupboard for cooking utensils. " Many girls came not too long ago to look for you, wishing you good luck. One of them even had a camera with her."

Shiho said nothing.

" You're really popular now, aren't you?" Akemi said happily, flicking on the switch as heard the dull whirr of the oven turning on. " It's totally not like when you were in High School, when you would just ignore whoever wanted to be friends with you."

Shiho raised her eyebrows. " That's way into the past." she said.

" I'm not accusing you of anything!" Akemi said, stepping into the kitchen, picking out the most brightly coloured apron and pulled it on. " It's just that I think you changed a lot after you started teaching. I never thought you would have continued after Shuichi. . ."

She stopped in mid-sentence, at the sight of Shiho's hardened face.

" I'm sorry."

" It's alright." Shiho said, yet there was a distinct coolness in her voice.

" No, really. . .I shouldn't. . ."

" It's okay." Shiho said, a smile upon her face.

Akemi's eyes widened.

" Really?"

" Yeah."

" Why?"

Shiho's eyebrows rose, but just shrugged. " I don't know," she said, raising to her feet and started to make her way to her room. Her hand was on the door handle, ready to open it. Then she paused, her fingers slipping off it for a brief moment before placing them on it once more. " Call me when dinner's ready." she said, shutting the door behind her.

Akemi smiled knowingly, looking at the photograph beside the stove. It was Shiho and a young boy, both wearing short-sleeved shirts, standing under the hot sun, a soccer ball under the boy's arm. And the both of them were smiling.

" I guess she's moved on," she muttered. " Am I right? Shuichi-kun."

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He had come too early.

It was obvious that he had come too early. The huge iron gates of the school were clamped shut, and even the owls on the trees were getting some shut eye before perching off for another mid-morning feast. He took a step backwards, walking in the direction of the park just opposite the school. There was something remotely mysterious about it all of a sudden. But then again, anything could look freaky at two in the morning.

He sat himself down on the swings, and pushed himself off the ground just a few inches before allowing himself to be swung backwards and then lifted off the ground once more. He was about to lift off once more, when he noticed walked up towards the school. He raised his eyebrows and came to a stop, hopping off the swings and onto the ground.

His eyes widened as he saw who it was.

" Miyano-sensei?" he called out.

She turned and squinted at him.

" Kudo?" she said.

Expect it sounded more like " Bruno' because she had half a sandwich in her mouth. He jogged across the road to reach to the other side. (Really not in the mood for the ' Why did the Chicken Cross the road' jokes.) He stepped up next to her as she as she pulled the piece of bread from her mouth, tossing it onto the ground as happy birds flew down to consume it eagerly.

" What are you doing here so early?" he asked.

" That's what I should be asking YOU." she said narrowly, pulling out a school key from her pocket and unlocked one side of the gate and pushed it open gently.

" I woke up too early." he said sheepishly. " There was no way I could just continue to toss and turn around in bed, so I guessed it wouldn't be better to stay around here."

" NOT smarter," she said, tucking the key back in her pocket.

He grinned sheepishly.

" What are YOU doing here, then?"

" I always come here this early." Shiho said calmly, locking the gate behind them and walked on along the pathway leading to the two huge doors which would soon bring them inside the dark corridors of the empty school. At the sight of that, Shinichi let out a low, low whistle, which went down the long line of unlit hallways like a train down a railway track.

" Don't you get scared?" he asked, who shivered in spite of himself.

" No." she said calmly, as they walked onwards in the dark hallways. " I'm used to the dark."

He raised his eyebrows.

" Why, what kind of childhood did you have?"

She didn't say anything until they reached her staff room and she swung open the door after unlocking it. " Do you want to come in for a while?" she asked.

" Sure," he said, sounding slightly impatient. " And stop changing the subject."

She clicked her tongue impatiently and opened the fridge inside.

" Coffee or tea?" she asked.

" Your answer to the question." Shinichi said.

Shiho seemed amused by his rudeness to his teacher and desire for her answer. But she kept herself quiet and had hide her grin at the sight of him glare into her back as she prepared the drinks. Finally after ten blistering minutes of waiting and eye glaring, Shiho turned around with two onigiri and two cups of coffee. " Enjoy." she said, hiding her smirk.

" Thank you." he said, almost sarcastically.

" You're welcome." she said, grinning broadly.

He was about to ask her once more, when she cut in before he spoke to save his saliva. " I don't remember much about my childhood." she said slowly, and he shut his mouth tightly. But not for too long, as he grabbed the riceball off the table and bit into it. The riceball, not the table.

" Any friends?" Shinichi asked, downing about half of the coffee.

Shiho thought for a moment.

" Not really." she said, biting into a small bit of the riceball. " My dad made me stay away from anyone."

" Why so?" Shinichi asked, looking apologetic.

Shiho paused for a moment, sipping her coffee.

" I guess he just didn't want me to meet anyone." she said. " Ever since my sister lost her memory for six months. . .yes, I have a sister. . . he was very paranoid, and did not want me to get in any physical harm. I know it's weird, but in some way. . .it's kind of sweet."

He raised his eyebrows, but nodded.

" Yeah. I guess it is."

Silence.

" But I do remember someone." she said slowly.

He nodded for her to continue.

" It was one of the few times I saw the light." she said vaguely. " A woman stood there with her son, and I could just remember his smile." A small blush appeared on her cheeks as she smiled slightly. " He was the first person I knew besides my parents and sister."

Shinichi smiled.

" How is he now?" he asked.

Her smile faded.

" It was three years after we became friends when I reached my tenth birthday." she said, crossing her legs. All of a sudden she looked forlorn and tired. " I expected him to come to my room once more. Hell, I even prepared to squint as I heard footsteps approach my door. But as it opened, all I saw was my mother."

She paused.

And he didn't force her to continue.

She just went by herself.

" I had a boy-friend when I was sixteen." she said, as if finishing off the story she left hanging previously. " He was just like me, quiet and sullen. I don't think there was ever a time that we went out on a date. It just like on reflex. W would see each other on the road and with one quick glance at each other, we were side-by-side, and just walked."

She swallowed.

" It didn't matter where we went." she said. " I was happy."

She bit her lip.

" Once, he finally showed some expressions to me. He just grabbed me by the arm and kissed me on the cheek. I was stunned, because we didn't show much things to each other. We barely held hands, let alone kiss each other. ' Call me tonight.' he had said. ' I have a surprise for you.' And for once, there was a grin on his face. A smile."

" And unknowingly there was one on mine too."

Shinichi remained silent. He didn't know if she was even talking to him anymore. Or maybe she didn't even know that she was still talking.

" I called him but he did not answer." she said.

Silence.

" And the next day he did not come to school. And the next day after that. And the day AFTER that." she gulped. " I called and called him. But he just would not answer."

Shinichi opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself.

" Even now I still call him." she whispered. " Even though I know he will never pick up."

She stopped, a blush forming on her face. " I'm sorry," she said in embarrassment. " You must be bored dead listening to me ramble on, aren't you?"

He finished the riceball and drained the last of the coffee. He wiped his lips and smiled at her. " I guess that was why you helped me out, right?"

Her eyes widened.

" What?" she asked.

" It's the same with Ran as it is the same with your past boy-friend, more or less." he said calmly. " Just that you don't know if your's is dead or not. Mine is very well alive, and you just wanted to help me out, am I not right?"

She just stoned out for a moment, before grinning.

" Yeah." she said. " No wonder you're a detective."

He smirked.

" Thanks." he said.

She lifted the mug to her lips, sipping the coffee, but was still watching Shinichi with the corners of her eyes. He just looked so familiar.

Who was he?

She drained the mug and placed it down.

" I need to clear my locker." Shinichi lied, clearly wanting to escape from an uncomfortable conversation.

" Okay then." Shiho said, wanting to be left alone.

Silence.

" See you later, Miyano-sensei."

" You too."

Then he stopped, and turned around.

" Miss Miyano?" he said.

" Yes, Kudo?"

" You're prettier when you smile."

Her eyes widened as she watched him disappear behind the door as it slowly shut.

There she stood alone.

" Dumb ass." she said, blushing.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sanshriyuki watched Shinichi's figure fade away from Shiho's office.

" Damn it." he grunted.

Sonoko let out a whistle.

" Looks like they really ARE together." she said.

Sanshriyuki opened his mouth, but was stopped short by Sonoko.

She was smirking.

" Never mind." she said, pulling out her phone. " I've got this all planned out."

He blinked.

She really WAS what they said she was, wasn't she?

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The war had indeed begun.

Friends had become enemies.

Enemies had become friends.

It was almost instant the next day that girls and boys who supported Ran would hang out together in one area, and fans of Shiho would in another place. Glaring or ignoring would take place, and if there were any needs of conversation or speaking to each other, it would be insults, which would lead to fighting and basically a lot of unnecessary pain.

Fans of Ran were more rowdy and lost their temper easier, as most of them were fans of Ran's kick ass karate moves, and thought that Ran could make Shiho fly across the globe if she wanted to, but was way too sweet and nice to do so.

Shiho's, on the other hand, were mostly boys and girls in her classes who idolized her brains and cool, but the others just liked her because she was plain hot. And they said that Shiho had a better looking future with all the brains, whereas Ran was just a wall kicking maniac bimbo who did not have enough brains to fill an eggcup.

The tie score clearly caused this.

There was just five days to the balloting.

One fight every lesson.

Eight lessons every day.

Five times eight would be forty.

The war had indeed begun.

And Ran, Sanshriyuki, Shiho and Shinichi were in the middle of it.

END OF CHAPTER 7

KristiexxNguyen. . . . Ok then. (Laughs) Sorry, once again, for the long wait.

Hoshito. . . . .Yep. I just did.

xtuyet. . . . .Sorry, yeah, I just noticed that. Guess I'm still not that good writer yet. (Laughs) Thanks for your support!

Sadie Janelle. . . . .I hope this was worth the wait too.

Vash. . . . .Excellent review. (Laughs)

tantei. . . .Yeah, most of us hate her, but she still cxares for Ran, so I'll let her live.

Adilla. . . .Really? (Broan grin) Really? Thanks. I don't know what to say.

anime-obsession260. . . . .Thanks. I'm cute too.

FoxyFire. . . .Yeah, I found that out. (sheepish)

SN 1987A. . . .Yes, you SHARP REVIEWERS, I made a mistake. (Cries against the wall)

Fanfic maniac. . .Yes, she sure is. Oh yeah, ahem. Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. (Breathes in oxygen.)

Crystal Snowflakes. . . . .Whoa, don't want to delay you there.

wayupi. . . . .Whoa, did I make you all wait THAT long? I'm sorry.

Silver Sky Magician. . . .Join the club, we've got jackets.

YumeTakato. . . .Arrg. . . .Everyone spotted my mistake. Crud. Never mind.


	8. Warmth

Thank you for your reviews! I'll try to keep updating AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! So keep those reviews coming, okay? Thanks!

CHAPTER 8

The next day there was rain.

Buckets poured down onto the streets, splattering on the window shields and onto the roof tiles covering Shiho's roof. She opened a tired eye and shut again. It was fifteen minutes later when her alarm sounded when she opened a sleepy eye once more. She watched the alarm clock with slitted eyes for a full minute until the alarm died away when she shut her eyes again.

" Shiho!" came her sister's voice at the door. " You're going to be late!"

She opened her eye again, before shutting it again.

The dog next door was barking at some cat, person or tree stump.

Shiho opened her eye before shutting it again.

" Crap." she muttered.

She rubbed her tired head and sat up right on her bed, trying to allow her eyes to get used to the bright light shining into her room. A burp tried to erupt through her throat but she merely groaned and fell back down, hitting her head hard against the pillow. " I think that burp died trying to get out of my mouth." she muttered to herself, massaging her chest uncomfortably.

Well, this was awkward.

" Shiho!" came her sister's voice again, this time more concerned.

" Yeah, I'm coming." Shiho moaned, but made no motion of getting up.

Around five minutes later, Akemi got the hint and opened the door, stepping across the room to her sister. " What's wrong, Shiho?" Akemi asked worriedly.

" Nothing." Shiho muttered. " Just tired, that's all."

Akemi bit her lip and pressed her wrist against Shiho forehead.

" Oh my, you've come down with a fever." she said. " I'll make you some chicken soup."

" No, I'm fine." Shiho said stubbornly, struggling to get up, but after much wasting of her enegry, she plonked back down onto her bed, exhausted.

" You don't look so fine to me." Akemi said, pulling up the blankets of her tired sister's bed to her neck and smiled down at her. " Just lie down and relax." she said confidently. " I'll call the school for you, and after that you can have some of my homemade chicken soup, okay?"

Shiho knew her sister well enough to know that there was no use arguing.

" Okay," she said. " Thank you."

Akemi walked to the door, before pausing.

" Come to think of it, you don't fall sick that much." she said.

" No." Shiho said, yawning. " I don't."

Akemi let out a mysterious smile.

" You only got a fever. . .that time, I think."

Shiho opened a tired eye once more.

" When?" she was about to ask, but before she opened her mouth, her sister had already swung the door shut, and left the room without a sight.

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" Where's Miss Miyano?"

" She's called in sick today." the replacement teacher said, coughing unnecessarily. " Now, Kudo-kun, would you please get back to you seat?"

Shinichi bit his lip and walked back to his place next to Ran, and sat down. Ran and Sonoko leaned in towards him questioningly. " Well?" Sonoko asked him eagerly. " Where did Miss Miyano go? Don't tell me she left already."

" Nah," Shinichi said, twirling his pen with his fingers. " She's on leave. I think I'll vist her later on. See if she's alright."

" You know where she lives?" Ran asked.

" Yeah." he said casually. " She told me."

Ran felt a pang of jealously for a slight moment but shook it off. " Do you want to go there together?" she asked hopefully.

" No." he said so sharply that the both of them jumped. " I want to visit her alone."

Sonoko would have slapped him if the teacher didn't let out a loud cough that cracked paint off the walls. ' How dare he be so cold to Ran? Does he not love her anymore? What on earth is his problem with her?'

Those were all half right.

He was cold to her in the beginning because he wanted her to be jealous of him and Shiho and thus fall in love with him once more. But as the days passed, he didn't care if she hated or liked him anymore. He was just about ready to tell Miss Miyano that he didn't have to got for her 'lessons' already, as he did not love the objective anymore.

But he liked being around her.

There was something about Shiho that made him feel happy around.

And she didn't make him feel sad.

And she didn't break his heart.

At that moment, Ran sneezed.

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Akemi was not the sort of person who forgot things easily. All the way from when she was five years old, she would jot down everything down into her multiple diaries, all catoragised by the good and the bad. But it was not just because of her diaries that she remembered almost everything, but was because of her fantastic memory.

She knew where everything was kept, put, and taken.

It was just in the afternoon while she was making her chicken soup for Shiho when the doorbell rang. She blinked and walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. Just after a small glance, a grin spread across her face as she opened the door.

About ten schoolgirls were at the door.

" Good afternoon," she said brightly. " May I help you?"

" Oh, hello." one of them said, looking sheepish. Apparently she thought that they had reached the wrong household. " Is this the house of Shiho Miyano?"

" Yes, it is." Akemi said, nodding.

Their faces split into obvious grins.

" She did not come to school today," one of the girls said eagerly. " We thought we would just stop by and ask what was wrong."

" Would you like to come inside?" Akemi asked.

" It's okay." some of them said, shaking their heads furiously. " Since you answered the door. . .we guessed that she was sleeping. . .and we don't want to trouble her or anything. . .so could you pass this to her?" In one of their hands was a can of porridge. " We made it together." they chirped. " Tell her to get well soon, so she can come back to teach us."

Akemi smiled warmly at them.

" Okay then. Thanks for caring for my sister."

They bowed, and ran off, chatting excitedly.

Akemi watched them enter the lift and disappear before shutting the door, placing the porridge on the table. " Will HE come too, I wonder?" she whispered, looking at the picture on the kitchen table once more.

She smiled to herself.

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Sanshriyuki stood before Shiho's house, chewing on his bottom lip.

" So this is where Miyano-sensei lives. . ." he muttered, digging his nails into his palms. He watched the ten young students, giggling non-stop, walk out of the lift past him. He raised his eyebrows. Looks like Sonoko really had all the resources he needed. He looked at the pad of paper she gave him. Not only did it have her full name and age, but her address, phone number and handphone number too.

It was almost scary.

He took in a deep breath and shoved the sheet of paper back into his pocket.

This was it.

The point of no return.

He was about to step into the lift when someone dashed past him, running up the stairs.

His eyes followed the person before he vanished out of sight.

His eyes widened.

" Kudo?" he whispered.

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Akemi was about to finish making the chicken soup that she had made previously when the doorbell rang once more. She raised her eyebrows and crossed the fridge, which now held an extra bowl of porridge inside. She opened the door slowly and expectantly, and an grin filled up on her face.

' Well, who do we have here?' she thought to herself, amused. He certainly was good-looking. Especially with that nervous, squirmy look on his face, she knew he must have been one of her admirers. Or friends, to the least.

" Yes, may I help you?" she asked, grinning.

" Er. . .yes, my name is Shinichi and I'm a student of Shiho Miyano." he said. There was something oddly familiar with him; something she just couldn't point out at the moment. Even with her fantastic memory, something slipped her mind for the slightest of a second, and she just blinked, looking at him. " I was wondering if I could come in to meet her."

She was sleeping.

Akemi would have told that to him and he would leave like the girls before.

But something stopped her.

It was strange, but something stopped her.

" Why, of course," she said, unlocking the gate. " Come right in."

He smiled at her and walked in, a can of porridge in his hands. She would have swooned if she didn't realize the fact that she was way older than he was at that moment. He pulled off his shoes and placed them on the shoe rack before looking around at the house from where he stood, confused.

" First door on the right." she said.

" Right."

He walked off, her eyes staring at his back, biting her lip.

" Have we met before?" she asked.

He turned around, blinking.

" Not that I know of." he replied.

She seemed satisfied with his answer for the moment, before nodding. " Alright then." she said. " I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

" Thank you." he said, before entering the door and shut the door.

She just stood there, eyebrows raised.

After a while she got back to her senses and walked back to the kitchen. She let out a yawn and picked up the ladle to taste her soup when she stopped, her head darting sharply to the door where it held Shiho and Shinichi.

" No," she whispered. " Not. . .Kudo Shinichi?"

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Oh, Hell no.

Shinichi had entered the room, shut the door, and found out that his teacher was sleeping on her bed, totally unaware of his presence. But it was not only that. It was the way she was dressing that made him want to both pounce on her and run out at the same time. There was a skimpy tanktop draped on her shoulders, with pants that barely went lower than her thighs. He bit his lip and diverted his attention to other parts of her room.

Her paintings. . .

Her books. . .

Her wardrobe. . .

He mentally slapped himself.

His eyes went back to her paintings, and he smiled. They were roughly sketched, and seemed to be pencil or charcoal drawn. Did she make them herself? He stuffed his hands in his pockets, stealing a peek of her sleeping figure, and smiled.

She just looked so sweet when she was sleeping. There was a strange feeling of dominance watching his teacher sleep there, her eyes shut peacefully, totally unaware that he was standing there, watching her.

" Miyano-sensei. . " he started, but stopped.

Slowly and quietly, he drew a chair from her desk and sat down on it.

And there he sat.

And there she slept.

Alone in the room, enjoying the presence of each other.

Maybe not for Shiho, that is.

But Shinichi guessed he would just have to live with that for the meantime.

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Sanshriyuki looked at his watch impatiently, clicking his tongue. Shinichi was in there for over half an hour, and that was way longer than the girls before him took. He frowned up at the heavens as if it were their fault.

" Damn," he muttered, turning his heel to leave, when he noticed a car pulling up on the drive. He watched the owner step out of it with the corner of his eye. The man wasn't too bad looking; he was around his age, must probably. But his face was colder than anyone's he had ever seen, his hands tucked in his back pockets. He slammed the car door shut, and made his way up the small slope leading to the apartments.

He brushed past Sanshriyuki, barely looking at him.

Sanshriyuki turned his head slightly around, watching him walk out of sight.

Who was HE?

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Shiho opened her eyes before shutting it again.

Five seconds later, she was doing the same routine again.

And then again.

And again and again and again.

" You're awake." came a male's voice.

Her eyes widened as she sat up in surprise.

" Kudo?" she said, rubbing her tired eyes.

He smiled at her warmly.

" How long have you been here?"

" Just five minutes ago." he lied.

She sat upright, a strap of her tanktop slipping off for a second before she pulled it up nonchalantly, not noticing Shinichi's beet red face.

" So. . .you have a fever?" he asked, concerned.

" Yeah." she said carelessly. " But I'll be back tomorrow."

" That's good to know."

There was an awkward pause.

A knock on the door saved the both of them from starting a new conversation, and Shiho let out a small breath of relief. " Come in." she said.

Her sister stood at the door.

" Oh, are you awake already?" she said.

" Yeah." Shiho said. " Why didn't you tell me my student arrived?"

Akemi raised her eyebrows, surprised.

" I didn't think you would have minded. He was here for over an hour already."

That was it.

Shinichi wanted to just die on the spot.

Shiho looked at him, eyes wide.

" Whoops. . ." Akemi said apologetically, but by the smile on her face that was widening by the minute, the two of them knew that she did not regret what she just did at all. " I guess I'll just leave. I'll put the chicken soup I made for you in the fridge."

She shut the door behind her.

Shiho's shocked expression remained on her face.

Shinichi bit his lip, looking away.

" I. . .I didn't want to wake you up." he muttered, blushing.

A smirk filled her face.

" Awww. . .how sweet." she said mockingly.

He blushed.

" hey, I got you something to eat." he said. " I made it myself, so I don't think it would taste as good as your sister's. Plus, it's cold."

Her face turned crimson.

He. . .made it himself?

" It's alright." she said. " I'm hungry anyway.'

He smiled and opened the top of the lid, tasting a bit.

Darn, it was cold.

" Try it." he said, lifting the spoon to her lips.

She nodded and opened her mouth, allowing him to place the spoon in her mouth before drawing it out.

" Is it cold?" he asked nervously.

" No." she said, blushing.

No it wasn't cold.

It was so hot that it was almost scalding.

Or maybe it was just because of Kudo.

She smiled at him.

And he returned it.

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The man outside lit a cigarette and pulled out a picture of the familiar girl.

He dropped the cigarette onto the ground and stepped on it.

He smirked.

" I guess she still lives here." he whispered, looking up at the skies.

END OF CHAPTER 8

Who's the mysterious character?

Please keep reading and reviewing!

Thank you!

ReViEw rEsPoNsEs

_wayupi. . . .Whoa, maybe you're right. But that's just plain weird, right? Lolz. Thanks for reviewing my stories all this while, sorry for making you wait long, once again._

_YumeTakato. . . .Too kind._

_Fanfic Maniac. . . Yeah, I'm back. Back again. Guess who's back? Tell a friend. Yep. Please look foward to chapter 9._

_Vash. . . .Thank you._

_Adilla. . . .Well, take a rough guess, I'm not telling anything._

_Crystal Snowflakes. . . .Thank you. Don't be late again, lolz._

_Silver Sky Magician. . .First too much sugar, and now stock high on estacy pills. Hahahaha. . . .just kidding. Thanks for reviewing my stories._

_KristiexxNguyen. . . . Sorry, this one again. Haha._

_Anime-obsession260. . . .Thank you. I love your stories too.Haha. Random._

_SN 1987A. . . .Thanks, I didn't think anyone would thank me for that, so thank you._


	9. Confrontation

Sorry for the super long update, everybody. My exams were crazy, my com crashed five to six times, I got a nervous breakdown, and a crisis went through my life. But now that thats over and the holidays are coming up, you can all rest assured that I will update as much as I can, whether thats good news or not. Here's the next chapter of this story, everybody, and hopefully you can enjoy it. (HINT HINT) immensely. Alright, here I am at the next chapter of The Teacher, please read and review this story and most of all, enjoy.

CHAPTER 9

" Eh? An internal war?"

The four other teachers laughed at the new sensei's shocked reaction, a noodle still hanging limply at one side of his mouth. The four teachers were having an early breakfast before the start of school, and were huddled around one table in the teacher's lounge. " Yeah," Mister Mizakan said, sipping from the cup of coffee in his hands. " Apparently there's some sort of trife between the ' Miyano-sensei' fans, and the ' Mouri fans.'

The new teacher, seeming even more puzzled than ever, looked at the other teachers questioningly.

" It's no contest, really." Miss Ayako said, leaning back in her chair. " Ran was here for years, and yet Miyano could catch up so fast in popularity in a matter of weeks. Miyano would overtake her in days, I assure you."

" Not exactly," Miss Takato said, biting into the onigiri in her hands. " Ran has been widely liked around the country for her many wins in judo, so technically, her fans win Miyano's by a tenfold."

Baki sensei lifted a cigarette to his lips, and blew. He smirked at the other three. " But Miyano's hotter than Mouri."

Mizakan blushed. " Baki!" he muttered. " There are female teachers here!"

" But it's true, really." Ayako said, smiling to herself. " Miyano has a sort of radiance wherever she goes."

" I hope you aren't just being biased towards her because she's a teacher." Takato laughed.

The new teacher, was lost in the conversation long ago.

" Well, I'm not." Ayako, laughing along with the rest. " You have to admit that Ran CAN be rather childish at times. Miyano just seems to keep her cool at all times of the day. When I speak to her, I feel almost as if she is my senior, when in fact she's. . .well. . ."

" Younger than you are." Mizakan said, grinning.

" Er. . ." the new teacher started, but was cut in almost right away.

" But Ran's friendlier than Miyano, and easier to approach." Takato said, shrugging. " Easily spoken, I would rather brefriend Ran than Miyano."

" Oh really?" Ayako said. " I heard some students speaking about this exact same subject when I was in the lift. They said that Shiho is really funny in class."

" Miyano?" Mizakan asked, raising his eyebrows. " Funny?"

" Yeah, I thought she was just hot, that's all." Baki said, grinning wider than the sun.

Ayako grinned at Baki. " What's wrong with you?" she asked. " She's only 17."

" So what?" Baki asked, squishing his cigarette butt into the ashtray before him. " She's five years younger than Takato, and her body's already better than hers."

Takato blushed. " Baki!" she said. " You. . ."

" It's true, at any cost." Baki said, grinning.

Secretly, Mizakan agreed.

" So who would you think will win the war?" Ayako asked, getting back to the main subject.

There was a short silence.

" I choose Miyano." Ayako said, answering her own question. " She's smart, beautiful, and extremely grown up for her age."

The others murmered in agreement and in objection.

" I'm going for Mouri." Takato said pointedly. " In the long run, Ran. . .no pun intended. . .would win. She's known more, and people would choose someone who stayed here for years, not pop out within weeks."

Another constant muttering.

" I'm going with Miyano." Baki said, lighting yet another cigarette. " One point for her brains, another point for her beautiful face, another point for her lucious lips, another point for her mysteriousness, and ten for her body."

There was silence on this one.

A cough.

Mizakan finished it. " I choose Ran. Miyano's mysterious and that's attractive, but Ran's friendliness wins hers by a mile."

The new teacher just shrugged.

" Whatever happens," he said, and the others turned. " This will be fun to watch."

They grinned.

" Amen."

" Right."

" Finally you spoke up."

And there was silence once more.

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" In the case of the extraction of aluminium, aluminium occers naturally in the ore called bauxite. Bauxite contains hydrated aluminium oxide. Aluminium is a reactive metal, so it cannot be obtained by reduction of the ore with carbon. It must be extracted from its ore by. . .?" Shiho raised her eyebrows at the class for a moment, when Shinichi's hand rose up. She grinned at him.

" Yes, Kudo?" she said.

" Just wanted to say," he said, a grin on his face to compete with hers. " Welcome back, Miss Miyano."

There were cheers to that, and whistles going in his way. Shiho raised her eyebrows, but was amused all the same. " I don't think that that has anything to do with our topic, Kudo." she said, and the class laughed.

" Crud, the substitute teacher was really bad, Miss Miyano." groaned a boy from the centre row, and there were murmers of consent.

Shiho folded her arms.

" Wrong answer, Yoro." she said.

There was another laugh, and Shiho look into the crowd for anyone who knew the answer when her eyes and Ran's met. There was jealousy in them. Was she angry because Shinichi welcomed her back? Looks like Shinichi's plans were going along fine. She looked at Shinichi, and he looked back.

She smiled at him.

He looked away, blushing.

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" Welcome back, Miss Miyano." said Mister Mizakan.

She nodded and sat down at her seat in the teacher's lounge. Several teachers walked over from their seats, who had just come back to rest while their students had recess or physical education.

" Where did you go?" Miss Ayako asked, concerned.

Shiho just smiled at her reassuringly. " I'm alright, really." she said. " I just had a fever."

" Fever?" asked a health education teacher, backing away from her slowly. " Do you still have it?"

The other teachers laughed, while Shiho merely smirked. " No," she said. " But with your luck you'll probably still catch it."

They laughed again.

" I bet you got tons of visitors, didn't you?" Mister Bika said.

" Not as many as you would think." Shiho said. " But much more than I expected."

" You're just being modest." a teacher said, laughing.

Shiho was about to answer her when there was a knocking on the door. All the teachers looked up, and noticed Kudo Shinichi standing there. " Ah, there's a piece of eye candy." Mister Ayako said, grinning. The other teachers hid snickers as she walked over to open the door.

" Hello, Kudo. Who are you looking for?"

" Er. . ." Shinichi said, uncomfortably aware of all the teachers staring in his direction. " Is Miss Miyano there?"

The teachers looked at Shiho, who had gotton up from her seat. " Ah, my adoring public." she muttered, as some of the teachers grinned mischeviously. She nodded at Miss Ayako, who walked past her. Shiho stood at the doorway, smiling at him. " Hey, Kudo. What's up?" she asked. He blushed, and was about to answer her when he stopped, eyes following to the staring teachers behind.

" Come on," she muttered, pulling him outside, much to the disappointment of the teachers, and shut the door.

" Well, that's an interesting conversation we won't hear." Mister Baki said, folding his arms.

Mister Mizakan was smiling knowingly.

" What?" the teachers asked questioningly.

" I never saw Kudo Shinichi that flustered before. . .not even before Ran Mouri."

There were some knowing smiles.

" But that's wrong, isn't it?" Ayako said, raising her eyebrows. " For a teacher and a student have that sort of relationship?"

" Not if we don't tell anyone, it's not." Mister Mizakan said, lifting the cup of coffee to his lips, a gentle smile on his face.

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" So what did you come for?" Shiho asked, leaning against the wall behind her.

Shinichi bit his lip, face red. ' What's wrong with me?' he shouted at himself. ' Why is my stupid heart beating so hard? Why do I feel like I've just run a long distance and stopped? Why do I feel like. . .' His mouth felt dry, before smiling. ' No. . .that couldn't be it.'

" I just wanted to ask if you were feeling better already." he asked, struggling to keep calm.

Her eyes widened, before smiling warmly.

" Yeah." she said. " Thanks for your chicken soup. I never knew that you could cook."

" Yup. . .Ran taught me how to."

Shiho nodded, before poking him on the shoulder. " Speaking of which. . .when do you want to have the next lesson? I think things are going on really well. . .you would be able to win her back soon.'

I don't love her anymore, Miyano-sensei.

I love YOU.

He forced a smile.

" Would tomorrow be okay?"

" Yeah." she said. " Tomorrow would be great. See you in class later."

" Yeah."

She left, and left him there struggling to keep his heart beating normally.

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Akemi smiled as she looked at the photo album.

" Yup. . .it really is him."

There was a picture of Shiho and a young boy together. Shiho was in bed, a weak smile on her face, Shinichi reading a book to her. Akemi smiled fondly. This was when Shiho had a fever, and the boy had come over for days until she was feeling better. She remembered she had to open a small creak in the door in order to take the picture, and she had never shown it to anyone yet.

" Kudo Shinichi. . ." she whispered.

" The lost boy. . .we found you at last." She looked at another, and it was of Shinichi letting Shiho lick a bit of the ice-cream in his hands.

She pressed the picture against her chest, shutting her eyes tight.

" Shinichi. . ." she said softly. " Please take good care of my sister."

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" What? Shiho Miyano?"

The man nodded, his hands in his pockets. " Yeah. . .I heard that she taught here."

" Indeed she teaches here. . ." the random schoolboy answered. " But she just left school a few minutes ago."

" Oh." he said. " Thank you."

And the boy walked off. The man scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, walking up the steps towards the rooftop. He remembered how much Shiho liked high places, and maybe, with some luck, he could catch her there. His hands grasped the handle and pulled, sighing as he walked up.

When he reached there, he raised his eyebrows, aware that there were people there.

Just two, one was a girl and the other was a guy.

" What's this whole thing of you snubbing Ran?" the girl was asking, almost snapping at him. " Don't you like her already?"

" Whaaat?" the boy asked wearily, his hands in his pockets. " Since when did I like her?"

" Since forever?" the girl said, which was more of a demand than a question.

The man let out a whistle.

This was some hot stuff.

" Shinichi!" she yelled.

" What?" he yelled back.

" Are you in love with Miyano-sensei?"

The man's ears pricked.

" What the Hell are you getting at?" Shinichi said, but there was a faint sign of unease in his voice.

" You spend almost every day with her!" the girl said. " What's the matter with you? Don't you know that it's wrong to fall in love with a teacher?"

The man didn't know whether he was amused or angry.

' Was this Shinichi person in love with Shiho?'

There was silence.

" I am, okay?" he had said.

The man's eyes widened.

There was silence again.

" Oh, go to Hell with you!" the girl yelled, and stomped off towards his direction. He moved aside and let her kick the door down, walking away. It was at one moment when she noticed him, and smiled coyly at him, before walking away.

He rolled his eyes.

' Whatever. . .'

He hopped over the broken door, and noticed the boy looking at him.

He blinked.

" Who are you?" Shinichi asked.

He didn't mean for anyone to hear what the two of them were talking about. . .especially not from someone who looked like he was from C.S.I.

" Is it true that you're in love with Shiho?" he asked.

Shinichi blinked.

" Who are you?" he asked.

" Is it true that you're in love with Shiho?" the man asked again.

" Who are you?" Shinichi asked.

Silence.

" I'll answer you only after you answer me."

The man smirked, and shrugged.

" Very well." he said. " I was Shiho's fiance."

Shinichi's eyes widened.

Her fiance? Could he possibly be. . .

" My name is Shuichi." he said, a smirk on his face. " Akai Shuichi."

END OF CHAPTER 9

Hahaha. . .that's so full of drama, isn't it? The conclusion of Shinichi and Shiho's past is coming in one shot, and then it would be finished. Or I would choose to just end it here. . .I don't know. It's pretty good this way. Finally Shuichi and Shinichi meet, and there will be a sort of confrontation here. Relax everybody, the next chapter will be up MUCH MUCH MUCH faster than this one took, because this time I had exams, so please pardon me. Chapter 10 would have a climatic scene, so please look out for it. I want to keep writing this, I really do. It's a lot of fun, really it is.

ReAdEr ReSpOnSeS

_Silver Sky Magician. . .But she had a fever in Conan book 41 right? She looked cool even when she was sick, that it shocked me. Doh. I really want to put that in my story, but Shiho would seem like a weakling if she fell sick TWICE in the same story, right?_

_Great Detective. . .You can bet on that. More scenes of the two of them coming up._

_wayupi. . .It was always SS from the start to the end. I'm not fond of Shinichi/Ran._

_SN 1987A. . .Yeah, this one took a long time too. Lolz. But the next one won't, I promise._

_anime-obsession260. . .Haha, no he didn't. There's no point of that happening, right? Where's chapter 6 of Silent Life? COME ON! UPDATE!_

_ShinichiXShiho. . . .Yeah, Shinichi's like the candy. Sweet, and addictive. Sorry, did I sound gay just then? Hahaha._

_Fanfic maniac. . .Sorry, once again, for the long update._

_Adilla. . .Yeah, you're right. Was it THAT obvious?_

_Kippenberger. . .Interesting question, I never thought of that. When did she wear glasses in the comic? She only did that once, and that was to disguise herself._

_Crystal Snowflakes. . .Well, good luck with that. Haha._

_KristiexxNguyen. . .Trust me, I won't._

_Vash. . .Crud, everyone knows. Haha._

_Kippenberger (2). . .They're both the same age, I wrote that in the first chapter._

_H. Rui. . . .Hehe, sorry about that. Good luck with your violin, I always dreamed to play it._

_Yume Takato. . .Yep, he's naughty, that he is._

_Neil. . .Whoa, that freaked me out. Hahaha._

_Sooner. . .Aw shucks, thank you._


	10. Akai Shuichi

This is chapter 10 of The Teacher. Sorry it took so long, because my STUPID, focus on the word STUPID computer, crashed on me and deleted my previous work, so I had to write one totally new, all over again. Damn this piece of junk. I swear, I'm going to ask Bill Gates to improve on his cranked up boxes when I have the free time. Until then, I'm stuck with this lousy piece of junk. Chapter 10 everybody. Please read and review!

CHAPTER 10

" Akai. . .Shuichi?"

Shinichi bit his lip as he watched the man before him walk towards him, a small smirk on his face. In ways he was so similar to Shiho that he had no wonder that they were engaged. That smirk, the way he talked, everything from top to bottom. But this man was cold; almost too cold. He just surveyed Shuichi for a short moment more before looking away, sighing.

" Are you angry with me?" he asked softly.

Shuichi raised his eyebrows, and looked surprised for a mere moment before grinning at him. " Not at all," he said, and Shinichi looked up. " To tell you the truth, in fact, I'm actually relieved."

" Relieved?" Shinichi asked, confused. " I don't understand."

" Of course you don't." Shuichi answered, lifting a cigarette to his lips, lit it, took a puff and blew. All this while while he did the following actions, Shinichi just watched him, puzzlement written all over his face. " But then again, you're just another one of the many schoolboys in this school who spend all hours of their days here trying to look up her skirt, am I not wrong?"

Shinichi felt a ripple of anger.

" No, I'm not." he said calmly.

Shuichi grinned, the cigarette leaving his lips for a mere second. " Oh?" he said, which sounded more like a mockery than a question. " Then no doubt that you're her boy-friend of some sort?"

Shinichi clenched his fists.

Shuichi noticed this, but merely smirked once again. " No matter," he said. " I thank you for that all the same."

Shinichi blinked. " Why?" he asked.

" By what that girl and you were talking to just now. . ."

" Sonoko?"

" That's the one. By what you were talking with her just now, it seems more or less that the two of you are together in a way. At least there's hope that Shiho would forget me as times goes along."

Shinichi's eyes widened, his mouth opening and shut like a goldfish out of water. Was this. . .really the man that Shiho was still in love with?

Was he really the one. . .

Who she wanted to pick up his phone?

He grabbed Shuichi's collar angrily, clenching his jaw as he glared at the man, whose eyes remained ice cold, although there was now a flame of anger and irritation in them.

" Let go of me." he whispered.

" Go to Hell." Shinichi growled out, but he merely flinched. " Who the Hell do you think you are?"

Shuichi said nothing.

" Do you know how much Miyano-sensei misses you?"

Shuichi shut his eyes.

There were almost tears in Shinichi's eyes now. " Do you know. . .how much she loves you?"

Shuichi snapped, grabbing Shinichi's fists and pushed him away. There was sorrow and pain in his eyes for a moment until it disappeared without a sight, and there was that cold smirk once more. " You don't know anything." he whispered. " So keep your nosey face out of our buisness."

" You. . ." Shinichi started, raising his fists to strike Shuichi, but no sooner had he done that when Shuichi turned around, hitting him square in the jaw.

Shinichi fell to the ground, gasping as he fell unconcious.

Shuichi just stood there, sighing. " I'm sorry." he whispered, before walking away.

He was at his car when he heard his phone ring.

Biting his lip, he pulled it out and looked at the screen.

' _Shiho Miyano calling_' it said.

He just pressed the phone against his ear, not answering. Soon the ringing stopped, and Shiho's voice reached his voicemail. " Hey Akai. . .it's Shiho here."

He said nothing.

" Sorry for not calling yesterday, I had a fever. . ."

His face bore concern.

" . . .But I'm alright now, don't worry."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

And she continued to talk to an invisible person, not knowing that he was hearing her every word. It was a one-way conversation, but it benefited both sides; she felt confort talking to him, even if it was just his answering machine, and he heard her voice.

For the time being and maybe forever, this was the way it would be.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Shinichi opened his eyes.

Then he shut them again.

Then he opened them, then shut them again.

This went on for a few more times until he groggily sat up, surveying the area around him. The place was dark, the whole room pitch black expect for the small lamp right beside him. Ran was sitting next to him, and smiled at him as she saw him look her way.

" You're awake." she said.

"Yeah," he said, wincing as she placed a cold towel on his face.

" Did you get in a fight or something?" Ran asked.

He didn't say anything but put his jacket on, getting to his feet.

" Shi- - -," she started, ready to press into the question, but stopped as she noticed Shinichi turn, smiling at her.

" Thanks for tending to me, Ran." he said. " I'll see you tomorrow."

And he left.

She just sat where she was for a moment before opening her eyes, running after Shinichi. He was just at the door, ready to open it when Ran burst into tears.

" Shinichi!" she called out, and he stopped, but did not turn around. " I love you."

Still, he did not turn around, his fingers slipping off the door handle.

Her eyes widened, still brimmed with tears.

" I'm sorry, Ran." he answered.

She almost broke down, then and there. But she held herself, forcing herself not to end up bawling again.

" It's Miyano-sensei, isn't it?" she whispered.

He didn't answer.

" I sort of guessed it all, Shinichi." she said, smiling sadly. " The way you always stayed around her and everything. . .and you and her were alone in an empty classroom twice in the past few days."

" You know about that?" he asked.

She smiled. " I came back a few times after karate to get my things out of my locker." she replied.

He kept quiet after that.

She wiped her eyes in vain, biting her lip. " Shinichi," she started.

" You dumped me, Ran." he whispered, his hand on the door handle once more, and the door creaked open slightly.

She bit harder into her lip. " Yes, I know that, but---"

She stopped as he finally turned around, a sad smile on his face.

" I guess it's my turn now, isn't it?" he whispered.

Time stopped.

" Gomen, once again, Ran." he said, and disappeared past the door.

She sank to her knees, and wept.

Inside the darkened room just a few steps away from Ran's sobbing figure, stood the principal. His face was etched with grief, clutching his head tiredly as he got himself into the chair behind him. " I'm so sorry to the four of you." he muttered sadly, one eye opening slightly to catch the sight of Ran's shivering body, her eyes clammed shut, desperate to hold the tears she was previously so eager to let out.

" I guess that this whole thing would be my fault," he went on to himself, looking at the photo in the photo frame next to his desk table. It was a picture of him and two young girls, smiling along with them. Both had gone through so much because of him. One by the name of Akemi, the other by the name of Shiho.

FLASHBACK (Chapter 3)

" _Soccer pitch?" Mister Maki asked, puzzled. " What was she doing there?"_

_The principal bit his lip, frowning. " I think she was looking at the game." He said. " But she asked me for the name of one of the players there. Kudo Shinichi."_

_Maki's eyes widened._

" _Why?"_

_An unknown smile slid up upon the principal's lips._

" _I guess she thought she saw him before." He said._

_Maki raised his eyebrows, but no question came out of his lips._

END FLASHBACK

Indeed she knew him. But it was he himself who banished young Kudo Shinichi from his house right before Shiho's birthday. Why did he do that, people would ask.

" Because I didn't think he was the right one for you." he whispered to himself.

It was after he decided that Shinichi was not the one when his eyes fell upon Akai Shuichi, and thought that he was the perfect match. But just before Shuichi planned to propose to Shiho, he and his men went to Shuichi's place, and forced him to stay away from his daughter. It was years later after Akemi's illness when he left the two of his daughters and his wife, and they never saw him again. But little did Shiho know that her father, the man who had caused her all her pain, was just a few steps away from her. The principal bit his lip angrily, looking outside once more. She had left. The room was dark and now was empty, devoid of the presence of the two people who were there just minutes ago.

" Who really is the one for you, Shiho?" he whispered, fingering the photograph. " I guess from now on I'll stop butting in. . .and let you be the one who decides."

Silence.

" Am I not right?" he said in a hollow voice, a sad smile on his face. " My lost child."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Shiho slowly walked to her car, stepping into it before shutting the doors once more. She looked at her phone once more before smirking, dropping it into her bag. " He didn't answer my call again." she whispered sadly.

She turned on the ignition, and slowly left the carpark.

A figure appeared from the shadows, a man by the name of Akai Shuichi.

" Goodnight," he whispered. " Shiho."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" And THAT, of course, leads us to the end of the lesson."

There were cheers from all four sides of the classroom as they got up from their desks, wanting a sniff of the air out of the classroom and were just about to barge through the closed door, when they were brought sharply down to earth.

" BEFORE you go," Shiho said sharply, and there were many sounds of screeches of shoes back to their seats.

" BEFORE I let you all off for your short holiday. . ."

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

" Promise me that. . ."

A pin dropped.

" You would have a good weekend."

There were sighs of relief and cheers as they left, shouts of goodbye were heard all over.

" Good luck with the balloting tomorrow, Miyano-sensei." several people said as they stepped out.

She flushed slightly, but nodded curtly.

A group girls walked over, grinning.

" The get-a-date is a week after the balloting, right?" one of them asked.

She sighed. " Don't even remind me about it."

They laughed.

" Who do you think will pay for a date with you, sensei?"

" Besides the many perverts around of course," another said.

She blushed. " Shouldn't you be going home now?"

They grinned cheekily.

" Don't avoid the subject, sensei." they said.

" I'm not," she snapped, but there was a full-formed blush on her face.

" Come on," the girls said. " Who wouldn't you mind? Sanshriyuki? He's dreamy."

At that moment, Sanshriyuki walked past, nodding at Shiho. " Goodbye, Miyano-sensei."

" See you." she said, while the other girls swooned.

" He's so hot!" one girl squealed.

" No he's not." Shiho said.

They knew that they had gotten her, right there and then.

" Yoro, isn't it?"

" No." she said, dreading them to continue.

" Shinichi?" they asked.

She stopped, whipping her head around.

_Did they just say. . .Shuichi?_

" What did you say?" she asked.

" Shinichi. . ." they said, grinning. " Got right on the dot, didn't we?"

" N- - -No," she said, unknowingly flustered, but sweatdropped as she noticed the huge grins on their faces.

" Goodbye, Miyano-sensei." they said, running out of her class.

" Wait!" she called out, but knew it was all in vain as they screamed, laughing their way down the halls.

" Oh, for crying out loud. . ." she muttered to herself, shutting the door behind her, expecting to see Shinichi alone in the classroom, and was surprised to see that Ran was in there too, Sonoko walking out. She had ignored Shinichi for the whole day, and Shiho was amused at that. Sonoko, not Ran, by the way. Ran bit her lip as she watched Shinichi's back, wondering if it was right to start a conversation when he suddenly turned, catching her by surprise.

" Goodbye, Ran." he said.

Her eyes widened, before smiling.

" Goodbye. . .Shinichi."

Shiho blinked.

Was it just her, or did something between the two of them happen yesterday?

Sonoko glared at her before walking off. Shiho barely noticed that, and smiled at Ran.

" Goodbye, Ran-san."

Ran smiled back. " Goodbye, sensei. Good luck with the balloting."

" You too." she said.

And she left.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows, while she did to him.

" What the heck was that?" the both of them asked each other at the same time.

Shinichi laughed as she smiled, stuffing her hands in her pockets. " Follow me." she said.

He raised his eyebrows as he followed her out of the classroom, jumping out of the way in time to prevent himself from being squashed by the door that Shiho had just shut, locking it. " Where are we going?" he asked.

" My house." she said.

He blushed unknowingly.

" Oh, grow up." she snapped. " I just wanted to give you lunch."

He blinked. " Lunch?" he asked. " Why?"

She blushed, biting her lip.

" You. . .you gave me porridge before." she said. " I wanted to return you the favour."

He smiled, not noticing her embarrasment.

" Thanks." he said.

" No problem."

They were in the carpark when they noticed someone walking up the stairs to the lowest basement as they were walking down. It was the principal.

Shinichi bowed, along with Shiho. " Goodbye," the both of them said.

" Where are you going, Miyano?" he asked her.

" I'm going him tution classes." she said, which was partly true.

Shinichi frowned at the man before him. He had never been this close to the principal before, and it was at this moment when he reminded him so strongly of someone before, but he just couldn't quite think of who. His surname sounded fake, all of a sudden. What was his REAL surname? What was his real name?

" What's wrong, Kudo?" the principal asked kindly, and he noticed that he was sweating all over.

" Nothing." he muttered. " Feverish. . .that's all."

" Oh." the principal said, nodding at them as they moved out of the way so he could walk past.

" What's with you?" Shiho asked him as they reached her car, and got inside. " You were staring at him like you had seen a ghost."

" It's nothing. . ." he muttered. " Just got the feeling like I had met him somewhere before."

She cocked a brow. " Oh really?" she asked. " When?"

" That's the thing, I simply can't remember." he muttered.

She smirked as they pulled out of the carpark, riding on the road silently. " That sounds like some soap opera. Guy loses his memory. . .sees someone who looks similar. . .blah blah blah."

" I'm not making it up." Shinichi snapped.

" I know you aren't." she said, amused. " I feel it too."

His eyes widened.

" Really?"

" Yeah." she muttered. " Whenever I'm around him. . .I have feelings of being with. . ."

Her fingers clutched on the steering wheel.

" . . .A father."

He nodded.

" Try asking your sister." he said wisely. " If he's your father, he'll be hers, right?"

" I tried." she said, stopping for a traffic light. " But she lost her memory for a point of time, remember? I told you in the staffroom."

He smiled silently. " Yeah," he said. " I remember."

There was silence, once again, in the car.

" It's cold."

" Yeah."

Silence, again.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Akemi was watching television, legs crossed, a bag of chips in her hand.

Natoinal Geographic was what she was watching now. But every second she would change the channels, making full sentences out of nothing at all.

' And thus, the lion. . .'

' . . .takes the basketball, and DUNKS it into the hoop! What a. . .'

' . . .dry weather expected for the many days to come, as. . .'

' . . .the president of Malahentau. . .'

' . . .broke into a donut shop in the 4th of July, fortunately. . .'

' . . .everybody stares in awe at the fantastic. . .'

' . . .tiger from the zoo lets out a loud roar at. . .'

' . . .This fantastic cooking pan!'

She let out a yawn and was about to stop, and get some shut-eye when the door behind her let out a click.

She turned, ready to welcome her sister home.

" Ohio, nee-san."

" Ohi. . ." she started, when she noticed Shinichi behind her.

_Hello. . .who do we have here?_ Akemi thought amusingly.

She looked at Shiho, then at Shinichi, then at the wall bwteen them.

Then she grinned as wide as humanly possible.

" Oh, don't misunderstand." Shiho started. " I just wanted to cook him something."

" Oh, is THAT right?" Akemi said, accidentaly squashing the chips below her, grinning almost madly now.

" Come on," Shiho said hurriedly to Shinichi.

" Ohio." he said to Akemi nervously.

" Oh, Hi OH." she said, grinning at him.

" Oh, grow up, sis." Shiho snapped, almost dragging Shinichi into her room and shut the door.

Akemi smiled warmly.

" Well, what do you know?" she said softly.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" Wait here," Shiho said, dropping her bag on her bedside table.

" Don't you need my help?" he asked.

She smiled truthfully for once. " No," she said. " I'll do it myself."

And with that, she left the room as quickly as she entered. He clicked his tongue, looking around her room when he suddenly heard a tap on the window, causing him to jump, startled. His head turned to the direction of the noise, and rushed to open it. The person was Akai Shuichi, who did not look one bit surprised that Shinichi was there. Instead, there was a huge smirk on his face.

" I guess you live with her too, don't you?"

" No." Shinichi said, embarrased. Then he glared at him. " What the Hell do you want?"

Shuichi smiled reassuringly, and Shinichi felt his anger ebb away. " Look, I just wanted to talk to you. I waited for her to leave before I knocked, didn't I? You're the detective, you should have known."

" Yeah." Shinichi said bluntly. " You were in the taxt which followed us from the petrol station."

Shuichi let out a whistle. " Not bad. You'll make a fair FBI."

Shinichi grinned.

Shuichi tossed him a small package, and Shinichi caught it with one hand.

" Meet me on Monday during your recess." Shuichi said, and walked off.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows and watched him leave.

After half a minute or so, he fingered the package, and looked inside.

It was a band-aid.

He raised his eyebrows.

Well, THIS was surprising.

END OF CHAPTER 10

This wasn't so much a cliffhanger as my other chapters, wasn't it? Okay, that was a gimmee. So how did you find this so far? Hopefully you're wondering how I'll piece everything together. And I hoped you got a shock to find out the truth with the principal. Hehehe. . .well trust me, I have an ending planned out already. So please read and review this story! I hope to get 15 reviews for this chapter, and I just hope to get there. So please read and review!

NEXT CHAPTER: The Start of Sonoko's Plan

ReViEw ReSpOnSeS

_Adilla- - - -Thank you for your support. Please continue to read my stories!_

_KristiexxNguyen- - - -Well, I'm trying my best to. Marrying Haibara is one huge wall in front of me though. Oh well, I guess I'll try to leap over it. Or ram through it, for that matter. Lolz._

_wayupi- - - -Thanks for liking that scene, it was one of the ones I liked writing the most too. And, er, yeah, if I was the person next to you in the internet cafe I would be freaked out too. Or the next, for that matter. Lolz. Thanks for reading my stories._

_tantei- - - -I'm not so sure myself. . .But I probably won't say it in the story to keep Shuichi mysterious._

_ShinichixShiho- - -Hey, better to yell out in school than in an internet cafe. Or your dad's office or something. The girl who was yelling at Shinichi was Sonoko, just so you know. And, another fact. Yes, Shuichi WAS Shiho's fiance. She said so in her confession to Shinichi in the teacher's office, remember? (I think it's chapter 6 or something. . .) Lolz. Thanks for being so supportive of my story!_

_anime-obsession260- - - -Oh crud, I really want to read the next chapter. You can use your friend's computer too right? Just hurry up and update. . .the faster you do the faster I will too. Agreement, YAH?_

_SN 1987A- - -Yep, I noticed my flaw, and told who it was in this chapter. Indeed, it's Sonoko. Yeah, I like Shuichi a lot too. He's like. . .the cooler version of Shinichi. That's why Shiho helped Shinichi out, because she saw an image of him inside Shinichi. Whoa, I wasn't even planning to put that in my story. Lolz. Thanks for the compliment, I don't like it when writers get biased towards Shiho, because Ran's a nice girl too, right? But she annoys me, for some reason. Still. . . .But anyway. Thanks for the last statement, it brought tears to my eyes. Lolz. And yes, there will always be readers supporting you too. Update Galatea, as soon as you can, if you may._

_Vash- - - Hahaz. . .who were you thinking of in the behinning?_

_fanfic maniac- - -Right. You're the most hyper review I know. Lolz. But that cheers me up whenever I see your reviews, because my grades sucked. Not in my school, but to my parents especially. Darn, life suck. But whatever, right? Don't worry and be happy. :) Thanks for continuously reading my stories._

_YumeTakato- - -Odd? Really? I was hoping it would be cool._


	11. Truth

Sorry for the long update! I was busy with my Shaman King stories; if you have a lot of free time on your hands, I wouldn't mind you going there to check them out! In the meantime, check out the newest chapter of The Teacher, and of course, don't forget to read and review me! (P.S. Nope, I didn't reach my 15 reviews in the last chapter. But I hope to in this one! So please continuing reviewing! THANK YOU!) 

CHAPTER 11

" Please tell me what we are doing here again."

Sonoko raised her eyebrows at Sanshriyuki as she pulled out the key to the room and unlocked it. " Didn't we just go through this?" she asked him wirily, looking around the empty collidors, satisfied by her own cunning, and shut the door behind her. She walked briskly over to the huge cupboard at the back of the faculty room. " I'm going to remove a considerable amount of votes from Shiho's voting box secretly with you, and tomorrow at the balloting, she will lose and of course, Ran would defeat her easily."

" Miyano-sensei."

" What?"

" Miyano-sensei. You said Shiho. She's our teacher after all, and deserves our respect."

" Right. Miyano-sensei." Sonoko said carelessly, unlocking the cabinet and started to grab the box labelled ' SHIHO' and dropped them onto the table before her. " Thanks for helping me, by the way." she snapped, rolling her eyes.

" You never asked me," Sanshriyuki said, walking over to her to help her unlock Shiho's box with the new key that she handed him. " How many keys do you have, anyway?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

" You don't want to know." she said, chomping into an apple she had kept in her pocket. " I even have the key to the boy's lockerroom."

His eyes widened. " So have you. . .?"

" Don't be stupid." she snapped. " But girls paid me hundreds just to borrow it. 50 dollars for a minute."

" That's scary."

" No it's not." Sonoko said impatiently, taking another bite. " Girl have their urges too, you know."

" I mean the number of votes Miyano-sensei got. Look at them!"

" Just hurry up." Sonoko snapped, tossing the apple core aside. " Take out five. I have faith in Ran's popularity. Just taking out five would be enough for Ran to bowl Shiho over her legs."

" Miyano-sensei." he corrected her.

" Miyano-sensei." she said, rolling her eyes again.  
" I don't see why you like her so much."

Sanshriyuki looked offended. " You fancy the gym teacher." he argued.

" Because he's hot." Sonoko aruged back.

" And you're saying Miyano-sensei isn't?"

Silence.

" Do you want me to add more votes to your name?" Sonoko asked.

" I don't care about myself." he said. " I just want Miyano-sensei."

" Pervert."

" Egoist."

Silence again.

" You're crushing the voting slips."

" Sorry."

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It was seven.

Shinichi was starting to get worried by now. He had been waiting for exactly half an hour now, and he was wondering if anything had happened to Shiho. His hands were grasped on her doorknob now, contemplating whether it would be better to wait for another few minutes or to just go out and check. He raised his eyebrows at himself and stopped, snapping his fingers impatiently.

It was when he had made his mind and to open the door when it magically slammed right in his face, and there was a moment of silence as Shiho stood there, a bowl of porridge in her hands, watching Shinichi cradle his nose painfully, the door creaking away from the harmed surface.

She blinked.

Then she got it.

Blink.

" Oh my God, Kudo, I'm sorry!" she said, placing the bowl gently on the tabel and walked over to check out his bruise, but he simply waved it away.

" Naw, I'm okay." he said, trying to grin, but it only inflicted more pain on himself.

She raised her eyebrows at him, amused. " I can't beleive you still want to be macho at a time like this." she said.

" I'm not!" he said tightly, but winced as blood ran down from one of his nostrils.

" Men are such babies," she muttered, feeling into her pocket, and pulled out a handkerchief.

" Oh, hold still." she snapped. " I swear, dried leaves are tougher than you."

She dabbed the handkerchief on the exact spot where the blood was, examining the wound carefully, unaware of being watched by the detective's close gaze, a small blush appearing on his face.

He smiled warmly.

" You're really beautiful." he said out loud, then blushed at what he said.

" Er. . ." he started, expecting her to slap him or something, but she bit her lip, looking up at him.

" Thanks." she whispered. Then she smirked. " You're not just saying that because I'm tending your wound, are you?"

" Of course not." he said, grinning.

" AhEM." came a familiar voice from behind, a flash of light appearing in their direction before disappearing.

" Oh my sainted aunt." Shiho muttered, turning around to come face-to-face Akemi, a camera in her hands, grinning broadly at the two of them.

The two of them just stared at the unusually high lady.

" Oh, please tell me you didn't. . ." Shinichi whispered.

" Yep," she said, not denying it at all. " But don't worry, this is just for my eyes only. Of course, I could make seperate copies for the both of you if you want."

The two blushed furiously as she shut the door behind her, her laughter heard sounding the halls outside.

The two of them sweatdropped.

" Ne, your nee-san really is a joyful person." Shinichi said.

" Yeah." Shiho said, tossing the handkerchief into the rubbish bin. " There, it's done. Now eat up before it gets cold."

" Okay." he said, walking past her to pick up the porridge, and it was this split second when Shiho gasped, staring at his back. He whipped around, concerned for her. " What?" he asked. " What's wrong?"

She just looked at him soundlessly for a minute, seemingly taking in every turn of events, understanding them fully before smirking and shook her head. " It's nothing." she muttered. " It's just that. . .lately I've been seeing a lot of someone else in you."

He blinked, the spoon dipped into the porridge, letting it simmer silently.

" What do you mean by that?" he asked patiently.

" It's just that. . ." she whispered, biting her lip, unsure whether she should continue. " I think I figured out why I was so eager to help you."

He smiled, taking a bite of the porridge. " We already went through this didn't we? . . .Hey, this is delicious."

" Arigato." she said, before looking down at the floor. " I figure out. . .that I saw Shuichi inside you."

He stopped eating.

There was silence that befell the room after that.

Shinichi seemed to just stare at the porridge for a moment before looking up at her, and it was amazing just how unnaturally cold his eyes had become in just a few seconds.

" So in your heart I'm Shuichi's replacement, aren't I?"

Her eyes widened in shock. " No!" she cried. " Kudo. . ."

He got to his feet. " I guess the only reason I would still be in here was because you wanted to spend some time with your past fiance, right?"

" Kudo. . ." she whispered, tugging at his sleeve, but he wrenched it out of her grasp.

" Kudo?" he sneered. " Shouldn't you be calling me Akai now?"

It was then when she promptly got up and whipped her hand across his cheek. He just stood there, shocked, and his eyes widened as he noticed her eyes were stinging with tears.

" What kind of person do you think I am, Kudo?" she whispered angrily.

He blinked soundlessly, before sitting back down, and soon after she did too.

Silence again.

" I'm sorry." he muttered.

" Actually it should be me who should be apologizing." she muttered, and he looked up from his porridge, surprised. " It was the way like that at first." she said quietly. " But day by day I've gotten. . .steadily more fond of you."

His eyes widened, a faint stain of red appearing on hsi cheeks.

She smiled at him. " You're like my best friend, Kudo."

His heart dropped like a stone.

Quiet.

Silence.

Peace.

Sadness.

He smiled back.

" You too, Miyano-sensei." he said.

She grinned, wiping her tears away from her eyes. " You can call me Shiho, anyway."

Then her mouth widened in shock as he placed his finger on her eyelid, wiping away her tears softly.

" And you can call me Shinichi." he said.

She smiled back, blushing.

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Alright, this was interesting.

It seemed normal and perfectly alright to everyone, but there were only two people in the school who were shocked out of their skins, eyes wide, staring at the screen in shock. There was a two day holiday, and school would only start the day after; yet students were cowding around the billboard, anxious to know the results of the balloting.

It was when a group of students walked down the stairs to the carpark, when Shinichi and Shiho arrived at the same time from inside Shiho's car. Shiho nodded curtly at the few students who winked at her, some waving furiously.

Shiho and Shinichi exchanged glances before walking over to the huge billboard.

" I can't see why you had to drag me here." Shiho muttered.

" Come on, it's fun!" he said cheerfully, winking at several girls who congradulated him.

" I guess you won." Shiho muttered sarcastically.

He smirked. " I won't be surprised if you and Ran tied again."

Then the two of them arrived in front of the billboard, gazing up at it.

SANSHRIYUKI- - - -452 votes

" Well, HE'S certainly gotten more popular over the weeks." Shiho said approvingly.

" Yeah." Shinichi said, nodding.

YORO- - - - -453 votes

" Oh, good for Yoro!" Shinichi said, winking at Yoro who was not far from them.

He grinned back. " Not as good as you though." he mouthed.

SHINICHI- - - -500 votes

" Well, you're amazing." Shiho said, amused, crossing her arms across her chest.

He smiled, blushing slightly.

SAKURA- - - -321 votes

" Well, she did alright, I guess." Shinichi said, grinning at her. " She lost pitifully to you last time, didn't she?"

" Us." she said clearly, ignoring fan girls of her who were posting a banner with the words ' SHIHO MIYANO' on it, next to ' RAN MOURI' fans. " Me and Mouri-san."

" Right." he said sheepishly, before looking up at the banner.

SHIHO- - - -512 votes

RAN- - - - - 511 votes

Silence.

" Miyano-sensei won." someone whispered.

After that was followed by cheers and groans from all four sides of the court, yelling could be heard, glares in her direction, followed by cheers and many thumbs-ups. She just smiled. She caught a glimpse of Shinichi who was grinning back at her when she blushed and looked away.

Then the two of them noticed Akemi taking photos excitedly in their direction, waving.

" Shall we go?" Shiho asked.

" Yeah." Shinichi muttered. " I'll treat you lunch if we can make it to the carpark in 5 minutes."

" Make that 3 and you're on." Shiho muttered, waving at the roaring crowd before exiting the area.

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Sonoko was in shock as she and Sanshriyuki made their way off the bleachers.

" I can't Shiho won." Sonoko muttered.

" Miyano-sensei." Sanshriyuki corrected.

" Right." she said, too shocked to argue. " Which means that. . .Miyano-sensei actually won by six votes."

Silence befell the two of them.

" Actually, no." came a voice.

They spun around, and came face-to-face with a smirking man.

Sonoko blushed. God, he was good looking.

" When the two of you left I sneaked in and added the five votes that you took out." he said, his hands in his pockets. " In reality, Shiho only won by one."

And Sanshriyuki didn't feel the need to correct him.

" How did you managed to unlock the doors?" Shuichi asked, astonished.

" I'm in the FBI." he said, smirking.

" Who are you?" Sonoko asked.

" Shuichi." he said. " Akai Shuichi. And I'm warning the two of you. If you dare to do anything to Shiho. . ." he just simply cracked his knuckles, glaring at the two of them.

" I'll kill you."

Sonoko just nodded soundlessly, Sanshriyuki frowning.

Shuichi walked away, but stopped in mid-step. " Oh yeah. . ." he said. " Don't hurt that Kudo kid either. He's a nice person."

And he left.

The two just stared.

" Cool." Sanshriyuki muttered.

" Yeah." Sonoko said.

END CHAPTER 11

What did you think? This was a pretty easy chapter to write, in my opinion. Things start to get heated up in chapter 12, so please keep reading and reviewing this story! Sorry for forgetting the review responses! They're here now!

ReViEw ReSpOnSeS

_Yamin- - -Aw, shucks. . .I'm blushing already._

_ShinichiXShiho- - -She'll get it eventually, I guess._

_wayupi- - - -HAHA! Gin as the principal! That'll be a riot!_

_KristiexxNguyen- - -You're welcome._

_Vash- - -Thanks, I think so too. I sort of pictured her as a Tomoyo type, though._

_fanfic Maniac- - -Haiz, don't remind me. I hate my grades. Damn._

_Annitha- - -Oh, trust me, I will._

_YumeTakato- - -Really? Sadistic, that you are._

_Teresa- - -Thank you. I will._

_Crystal Snowflakes- - -Ooh, me happy you reviewed, that I am, that I am. Lolz._

_SN 1987A- - -Ah, yes, Haibara rocks my socks. Even if I'm barefooted at the moment, but not for long. Crud, I'm rambling. Thanks for the reviews and please update Galatea!_

_Adilla- - -Aw, someone actually misses my stories! (sniffs)_


	12. Choice

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! Darn, I was writing so many Shaman King fanfiction that I almost thought I lost my touch in Detective Conan! (Not that I even had touch in the beginning to start with, but, oh well. . .) Here's chapter 12! I'll try to make it longer to thank all you DARRRLLLIIINNNGGGG reviews, cool? So here's chapter 12, and keep read and reviewing! P.S. It's strange. Not that I mind that much, but why did EVERY single owner of a c2 communtiy deleted my stories off their lists? Plus, my c2 was deleted. :( Oh maan. . . 

CHAPTER 12

" Mee. Ya. No. Sensei."

" Oh shut up." she snapped. " And get back to your seats already."

Around six girls were surrounding her table while the other students piled in, ready to congradulate her, huge smiles on their faces. " You won the balloting, sensei!" a girl exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. " That stands you in the top spot for the auction."

Shiho shuddered. " Would the lot of you just quit called it an 'auction'? It makes me sound like some sort of painting."

" Well, if you were, we wouldn't mind a nude picture." came a cheeky voice.

She turned around, ready to give the person who said it two tight slaps when her eyes widened at who it was. Shinichi stood there, a meat bun in his hands, winking down at her. " Ohio, Miyano-sensei."

Her face hardened. " You're receiving two weeks detention because of that." she said, and the girls behind her giggled, sneaking glances at Shinichi, who was now in conversation with Shiho. Even Shinichi laughed, and Shiho felt her face redden. But she shook herself and snapped out of it.

" Oh, come on, Sh- - -Miyano-sensei." he said, correcting it in time at the sight of Shiho's raised eyebrows. " I was just stating the fact that was on every guy's mind."

" Kudo!" one of the girls said playfully. " I take it that you have a thing for Miyano-sensei?"

" I'd have to be gay not to." he said, laughing, the girls joining in too.

Yet they couldn't see the full formed blush appearing on Shiho's face. Sure he had meant no harm in saying what he had said, and it probably was just some strange, twisted joke that he always told. But to her it sounded almost like a. . .

Proposal.

" Alright, back off, all of you." she snapped to them, getting to her feet, and even the playful schoolgirls knew when to quit it. Sure, Shiho was not as stone cold as she used to be, but when she drew her line to something, people knew what to do. Shinichi nodded at her before walking off. She watched his back for a moment, before smiling softly to herself.

" Hey, Kudo." she called out.

He turned, looking slightly hopeful.

" Yeah? Miyano-sensei?"

" There's a downtown parking lot found near the middle street of Japan." she said, crossing her arms mockingly, aware of the other students who were listening into their conversation. " A boy found himself in the third level near the second lift where a bookshop were. A woman with a ladel would be there serving spagetti at three o'clock. A woman approaches them asking the boy for a free meal. The boy says yes."

While the eyebrows of the other students were inching higher and higher, Shinichi just smiled.

" Alright." he said, and walked off.

Shiho just smiled softly and started the lesson.

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Shiho just stood at the entrance of a food court at the end of the day, crossing her arms. Then her face was adorned by a soft smile as she noticed Shinichi walked over, a grin on his face. " Really, Miyano-sensei." he said. " I can't beleive that you thought of such a good riddle on the spot. Were you into this sort of things when you were younger?"

Shiho just smirked and opened the car door and let him enter. " My fiance was a FBI agent." she said, getting inside also. " And you can call me Shiho when we're outside of school. . .just so you know."

He grinned as he followed her inside. " So I guess you want me to treat you to a meal?"

She managed a small smile. " I thought you understood the message."

" I did." he said, his hands in his pockets. " I just thought you were joking."

She rolled her eyes as they stood in front of a pasta stall.

" When you said bookshop you were inferring to 'teach' weren't you?" the grinning detective asked. " And ' teach' meant that you were planning to ask me about the 'lessons' you were giving me, weren't you?"

Shiho ignored that sentence and nodded at the assistant at the storetable. " Yes, can I have two of combo 5?"

" Right away, ma'am." the assiatant said, running off to prepare.

The two of them just stood there in silence for a minute before Shiho opened a new line of conversation.

" Oi. . .Kudo. . ." she started.

" It's Shinichi, remember?" he said.

" Right." she said sheepishly. " Shinichi. Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

" Shoot." he said, accepting the two plates of food, and placed them on a tray nearby.

" Why did you want to take part in my lessons?" Shiho asked as Shinichi paid the manager.

He blinked and turned around, not bothering to take his change. " Why ask me that all of a sudden?"

She shrugged. " Just a question. You're forgetting your change, by the way."

Taking his money back from the store owner and stuffing it into his pocket, he followed behind Shiho to get their seats. " I thought you already knew this." he said, laying the tray on the table that Shiho had chosen. " I wanted to win back Ran."

" I know THAT." she said tiredly, picking up her chopsticks. " But why did you allow yourself to be taug ht by me? I was a total stranger to you at that time, if I were you I would have been suspicious and half-hearted if some unknown teacher came up to you and had a strange deal with you."

He smiled as he started to eat. " I felt like I met you before, that's all." he said.

Her eyes widened.

" I know it sounds weird for me to say that," he said, giggling at her expression. " But ever since I met you, I felt this warm presence of someone I knew. . .someone I knew so vaguely secret."

She just gazed at him for a moment before getting down to her own food.

" I guess that was what you were to me too." she said.

" I was the replacement of Shuichi wasn't I." he said.

She looked up, expecting to see cold and harsh eyes staring back at her. But she saw none of that; instead he was smiling at her peacefully, and she couldn't help the heat rising up to her face.

" It's okay." he said, drinking the coffee that had come along with the meal. " It was an honour, in a strange way."

She blinked. " How can you say that?" she asked.

He smiled cheekily. " He was good enough a man for you to love wasn't he? Don't I have every right to feel honoured?"

A full-fledged blush appeared across her face.

Then she smiled tenderly at him.

" Yeah." she said. " I guess you're right."

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Shuichi smiled to himself as he stood at the rooftop.

It was Monday; the weekend had passed like water, and before he knew it, it was time for school again. Not for himself, but you know. He was expecting Shinichi to come meet him any minute, and was killing time by munching on a chocolate bar in his hands. He was at the school rooftop, looking down at the streets below, one of his hands in his pockets, the other holding the candy bar.

He was just halfway through it when he smirked and stuffed it back in his pocket, and let out a long, low whistle.

" How long has it been since we last met, Miyano-san?" he whispered.

A very stern looking man glared back at him.

" What the Hell are you doing here, Shuichi?" the principal asked him.

Shuichi turned, smirking. " I'm not here to try to get your daughter back, you can just relax for that. I'm just here to meet up with an old friend of mine."

The principal frowned. " And who might that be? And please address me as Kinoyama. . .the students know me to that name, anyway."

" Why did you change your name, anyway?" Shuichi said, not showing a shred of respect to the senior.

" To conceal my identity." Kinoyama said. " I beleive you changed your name to ' Saito' too?"

" Ah, yes, you did your homework." Shuichi said, bringing a cigarette to his lips. " Do you have a light?"

The principal seemed to ponder on that for a moment before he reached into his pocket and tossed a lighter at him, in which he caught it and swiftly flicked it at the cigarette, lighting it immediately. " I should be lighting your hair on fire, considering on what you did to two of my agents."

" They were spying on me," Shuichi said, tossing the lighter back. " I'm sure you already knew that seeing that you were the one who sent them."

They just glared at each other.

" Ass wipe." Kinoyama muttered.

" Dickhead." Shuichi growled back.

" In any case," Kinoyama said. " I suggest you leave the premisis as soon as possible, or I would have to send an ambush attack on you near the break of dawn."

" Just like three years ago." Shuichi said, smirking. " Where I burnt the faces of eight of your agents."

" You- - -"

" Akai-san?"

The two of them spun around, and met face-to-face with a very confused Kudo Shinichi. He seemed to notice his principal's presence, and bowed quickly. Kinoyama nodded swiftly at him before glaring at Shuichi. " I assume that you would be leaving here as soon as you and Kudo-kun have your talk?"

" As soon as possible, sir." Shuichi said, suddenly polite, smiling graciously at him.

Kinoyama smiled back.

They were almost as good actors as Shiho and Shinichi.

" Goodbye, Kudo-kun." he said, leaving through the door.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows as he left before blinking at Shuichi. " So?" he asked. " What did you want to see me for?"

Shuichi nodded to himself and sat down. " Did you ever have a brother?" he asked.

Shinichi just stoned out for a moment before shaking his head. " No. I'm a single child."

Shuichi smiled and tossed a bag at him, and he caught it. Shinichi looked at it for a moment before turning his attention back to Shuichi, who was smirking up at him. " Er. . .is this a present?" Shinichi asked.

" Just open the bag." Shuichi said.

Shinichi opened it, before his eyes widened. " This. . .This is. . ."

Shuichi smirked.

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" Nee-san. . ." Shiho whispered.

Akemi smiled at her sister as she dangled the dress before her for every single person in the staffroom. " Isn't it beautiful?" she said. " I wanted to wait for you to come back home before showing it to you, but I just couldn't wait."

" I'm glad you couldn't." a teacher who sat not too many tables away from Shiho said, walking up to them. " That dress is beautiful. You're planning to let her wear it for the auction night, aren't you?"

Shiho flushed. " It's NOT an auction."

" Are teachers allowed to auction too?" Baki-sensei said cheekily. " Because if Miyano-sensei is going to the dance in THAT, damn, I'm going to try my chances on her too."

Shiho pursed her lips. " Can you please stop calling it an auction?"

" Why?" Mizakan-sensei asked, coming over. " Students are paying to go on a date with you, aren't they?"

" Yes. . ." Shiho said, biting her lip. " But still. . ."

Ayako smiled softly at her. " You're afraid of getting paid by some pervert, aren't you?"

Shiho flushed to all colours of red.

" That'll be dreadful!" Akemi said, gasping.

" Don't worry." Mister Mizakan said, a knowing smile on his face. " I have a feeling that I know who would win you over."

Shiho blinked.

" Who?" she was about to ask, but he had already left the office, shutting the door behind him.

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" A dance?"

Shuichi grinned downwards at Shinichi, being met with an appraised expression. " I thought that you would have known by now; what with you and your friend with all the connections all over school." Shuichi said, folding his arms. When Shinichi's expression turned into a confused look, he just shrugged it off. " That Sonoko girl. I thought she would have told you about it."

Shinichi sighed. " No." he said. " She's been ignoring me a lot lately."

Shuichi's lips twitched. " She confronted you before you and I first met, right?"

" Yes." Shinichi grumbled, pouting. Then his eyes widened. " Wait a minute. . .how did you know about the dance then? You aren't even part of the school!"

Shuichi winked at him. " I'm from the FBI, Kudo."

Shinichi smirked. " Must be good for you, right?"

" Mm." Shuichi said. " So anyway. . .who are you bringing to the dance?"

Suddenly it dawned upon him.

" Oh right. . .I have to bring. . .a GIRL don't I?"

" You could bring a guy, if that's fine with you." Shuichi said tauntingly.

" Idiot." Shinichi said, blushing. " I was. . .hoping. . .to bring Shiho."

Shuichi whistled. " Shiho?" he said, playing with the words. " When did it change into that from Miyano-sensei?"

Shinichi looked up at him abruptly, expecting to see him glaring down at him, but was surprised to see him smiling down at him. " It's alright, Kudo." Shuichi said with a small grin. " I've totally given up of the hopes of me and Shiho coming back together again anyway. I want her to be happy. . .and I think that you would be the one most suitable for it."

Shinichi's face reddened.

" Akai. . ." he started, eyes softening.

Shuichi sat down next to Shinichi. " So you're going to ask her out, aren't you?" he asked, taking out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. Shinichi nodded silently. Shuichi smiled warmly.  
" But what if she rejects me?" he asked himself out loud. Then after a short moment of silence he looked up at Shuichi for advice, who was lighting the cigarette which was in his mouth with a dark blue lighter. Shuichi took a puff and put in his pocket while Shinichi waited for him patiently under watchful eyes. Shuichi pulled it away from his lips and smiled confidently at Shinichi. " It'll be alright. She won't."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows. " How are you so sure?"

Shuichi smirked and got up. " Well, I have to go soon." he muttered. " I'll talk to you some other time; then you can tell me if she rejected you or not."

Shinichi nodded mutely.

" See you later." Shuichi said, before making his way to the stairway. He was just about to wrench open the door handle when he stopped. He glared at the long stack of chair which was piled up not too far away from where they were talking. He frowned, and was about to walk over to it when he stopped. A small smile played on his lips before he spun around and walked down the stairs.

Shinichi blinked and watched him go before sighing and following behind him.

But he failed to notice what Shuichi had seen.

He disappeared behind the door, and two sounds of sighing came from behind the chairs. Sanshriyuki turned to Sonoko who just grinned at him. " I almost throught Akai saw us." she said.

" Looks like he's not so sharp after all." he replied.  
Silence.

" So what do I do?" Sanshriyuki asked.

" Ask her before he does." Sonoko said matter-of-factly.

" Right. . ." he said slowly.

Silence.

" What the Hell are you still doing here?" Sonoko snapped. " Get on it!"

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Shiho sighed and opened of the teacher's lounge for her sister. " See you later, nee-san." she said, leaning against the door as her sister walked out, a grin on her face. " You too, Shiho." Akemi said, turning around to walk away when she stopped. Shiho blinked.

" What's wrong?" she asked.

" I was wondering. . ." Akemi said. " If two people walked up to you and asked you for the dance. . ."

" I'm not going." she said abruptly.

" Oh yes you are." Akemi said, and Shiho silenced. " If two people walked up to you at the same time and asked you to the dance," she repeated, ignoring Shiho rolling her eyes. " One of them being Shinichi and the other being some really really really really REALLY. . ."

" I';m begging you to stop." Shiho said.

" Okay. . .Really good-looking guy. . .who would you pick?"

Shiho bit her lip. " That's a stupid question, nee-san."

" Just answer it." Akemi said, winking at her. " Shinichi, wouldn't it?"

" Not exactly." Shiho said, crossing her arms across her chest. " It depends on who asks me first. If there's the case where I would be going to the dance with someone or at all, I'm going with the one who asks first."

Akemi chuckled. " That's so much like you." she said. " I'll see you at home."

Shiho nodded , and raised her eyebrows at who was rushing towards her, panting heavily.

" Hey, what's the matter?" she asked in concern.

" Never mind that." he muttered. " Miyano-sensei, I have to ask you something."

She raised her eyebrows. " What?"

Just behind her, another person ran up, breathing heavily, staring at the other person in awe.

" Will you go to the dance with me?" the person facing her asked, face flushed but confident.

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Shuichi got into his car, sighing.

" Sanshriyuki and Sonoko just never learn their lessons, don't they?" he whispered, taking a puff of his cigarette. He smirked to himself as he drove his car out of the parking lot. " But no matter. Shiho and Shinichi will end up together. . ."

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Shiho's eyes widened, a tinge of blush appearing on her cheeks.

Then she shut her eyes and licked her dry lips.

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" No matter what happens." Shuichi finished confidently.

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" Yes." she whispered.

END CHAPTER 12

Ahhh! Cliffie! Please read and review and chapter 13 will be up pronto! Can you guess who she said YES to? Shinichi or Sanshriyuki? Take a slab!

**ReAdEr ReSpOnSeS**

_Vah- - -Yep. Thanks once again._

_Adilla- - -Thanks for the praise. :)_

_ConanYLX- - -Awww, shucks. Thank you._

_Kayla- - - Whoa, that's demanding. Lolz. I'll try my best though._

_Lynn- - -Yeah, sighs. A part of me wants Shuichi and Shiho to end up together too. Maybe I could have a sub-ending, I dunno. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it._

_... - - -Nope, common mistake. Shuichi never answers a question directly. It's like your mom asking you " Have you eaten?" and you say " I went to McDonalds." Somethings along those lines, I guess._

_wayupi- - - -Haiz, don't remind me. They deleted it for some reason._

_joeshen- - - Yep, Shuichi's one nasty bugger._

_YumeTakato- - -LOlz. Yeah, I love that TV show. Kaito Kid? How can I? Unless something happens on the dance night, lolz. But that's probably not going to happen._

_Fanfic Maniac- - -Manga scans eh? Hmm. . . Do you have any good sites to recommend me?_

_SN 1987A- - - Lolz, ah. . .Galatea. I still want to praise how you made the confession so sweet, yet so mature. OTHER READERS CHECK IT OUT! Hope you don't mind me advertising. Lolz. Thanks for the review and keep updating Galatea._

_Crystal Snowflakes- - - -Thank you. Lolz. Why aren't you updating your version of this story?_

_anime-obsession260- - - -Yep, I love you readers too. Hahaha. . .Shuichi kicks butt, that is true._

_Ms. Starry-eyed- - - -Yep. Short? Really?_

_tantei- - - -Glad you all are so glad that Shiho won._

_Yamin- - - -Whoa, thanks for the compliment. Lolz._

_ShinichixShiho- - - (Grins maniacly.) Thank you. Don't worry, something will happen betweem the two of them._


	13. Twist

Thank you all for the reviews! This is chapter 13, beginning of the climax of the story. Yes, it will be ending soon. In at most nine or ten chapters, tops. So keep reading and reviewing, and the remaining chapters will be up as soon as possible. Thank you. 

CHAPTER 13

Mizakan-sensei paid the woman at the counter and made his way back to the teacher's lounge, carrying his lunch in a styrofoam box in a plastic bag, which was held tightly by his left hand. He nodded at the two students who greeted him, and pressed the button on the lift. " Mizikan-sensei!" somebody called out from behind him. He turned lazily, and smiled as he saw a very pretty schoolgirl with a crutch under her arm limping over to his side.

" Hello, Akane." he said good-naturedly. " Has it healed yet?"

" It's getting better day by day." she said, nodding in thanks as he opened the lift doors long enough so she could limp inside. " I'm really sad I couldn't make it to the dance though. I was looking foward to dancing with you."

It was five days back when she had asked him to the dance with her. Not wanted to reject or hurt her feelings, he accepted. Ironically, just after he had bought his suit for the prom, she had told him that she couldn't go because she had sprained her ankle during her physical education classes. She was mature for her age, and he actually viewed her as an equal, and it felt pleasant to talk to her during his lonely hours. Maybe that was why he understood Shiho and Shinichi's relationship far better than others in the school.

" Maybe some other time then." he said to her.

She simply smiled back.

The lift doors opened and he helped her out. " Thank you." she mumbled.

" You're welcome." he said.

He waved goodbye to her as she limped away and he walked onwards to the teacher's office, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

" Sahshriyuki?" he called out to his student.

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" What? You 're going with Yoro to the dance?"

Ran smiled bashfully at her shocked friend. Well, actually, shocked is too small and silent a word. More like stupified or some classy word like that. But that's another story, of course. " Yes," she answered, biting her lip, forcing a giggle as Sonoko's eyes widened even more. " Come on, it's no big deal. Shinichi already rejected me, and I have to respect his decision, no matter how much that hurts me. To say the least, I'm actually relieved. I was feeling suffocated by all the pressure of Shinichi and everything. . .I'm happy now, the way it is."

Sonoko just gaped at her friend. " Are you sure?" she asked.

Ran simply smiled. " Yes." she said.

Sonoko was about to say something before Ran cut into her sentence.

" Besides," Ran said cheekily. " I heard you were spending long hours with sexy water polo boy Sanshriyuki." she said. " Have you finally found your knight in shining armour? What would his mace be? A polo ball?"

" Oh, clam up." Sonoko snapped, flushing.  
" It's not what you think it is."

" Right." Ran said sarcastically. " I believe you."

Sonoko opened her mouth to rebuke before smiling softly and nodded to herself. " I've grown very attached to him lately." Ran smiled at her friend silently. The two of them were sitting below a huge tree just outside of the school, their lunches in their hands. " I've got half the mind to ask him to the dance, but he's too crazy with someone to even give me a second glance."

" Oh?" Ran asked, angry for her friend. " Who is she?"

Sonoko sighed. " Miyano-sensei."

Ran's eyes widened.

" Her?" she asked.

Sonoko tucked her arms behind her the back of her head and leaed against the tree. " Just wish me luck to win him over."

Ran grinned. " Okay." she said.

Just above them, there sat Shuichi, gnawing on an apple. He glanced at Sonoko, who was excitedly telling Ran about how Sanshriyuki won the last water polo match with his team, having scored the winning goal. He just smiled to himself, secretly wishing her luck too.

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The three people turned in the direction of one of their names.

Slowly, Shiho turned to face Sanshriyuki who was standing behind her.

" Sanshriyuki-kun?" she asked, but he just turned around, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked away. Shinichi was glaring in his direction in a way of fierce triumph, his hands clutched in small balls.

' I love her, Sanshriyuki.' he thought furiously, glaring at Sanshriyuki's back, burning imaginery holes in his shirt. ' I love her far more than you could love her. You know that, don't you?'

As if his telepathy had worked, Sanshriyuki slowed down in his fast pace for a second. . .just a mere second, and a small voice broke through Shinichi's head.

' No I don't, Kudo.' he had said. ' This isn't over.'

' Bring it on, you piece of dirt.' Shini chi thought.

" Way ahead of you, soldier." Sanshriyuki muttered softly behind disappearing behind the bend of the school.

Shiho turned to Shinichi, who smiled down at her. " You agreed, S- - -Miyano-sensei?"

Shiho smiled back, turning around.  
" I guess so." she said, ready to enter the teacher's lounge before she stopped slowly. " But today, lunch is on you."

He grinned, a full-fledged smile. " Only if you drive."

" You're on." she replied, before disappearing behind the glass doors of the room.

Shinichi just watched the area where she once stood before letting out a sigh, and dropped to the ground, his legs suddenly weak. He was just about to take a nap right then and there in one of the most awkward places in the entire school when he heard a chuckle behind him and he jumped to his feet. " What are you doing here, Kudo-kun?" Mizakan-sensei asked him, walking up to him. " There are many other good resting spots all over the school, in case you haven't noticed."

Shinichi sighed again, then glanced at his teacher.

" You saw the entire thing, didn't you?" he said.

" Would be lying if I said I didn't." Mizakan said, grinning broadly.

Shinichi snorted under his breath and looked away, hands in his pockets.

Mizakan, however, was looking at him thoughtfully.

" Hey, Kudo-kun." Mizakan said, and Shinichi turned around.

" Yes? Sensei?"

Mizakan smiled. " Would you care to have tea with me? I'll excuse you from your next class. It IS physical education anyway."

Shinichi shrugged. He guessed eating with two different teachers in two days wasn't as bad he would have thought three months ago.

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" Can I have two cafe lattes please? Thanks."

" Alright, comin' right up sir."

" Hold the cream on mine."

" I'll have an additional cherry, thank you."

" Righty. Anythin' else, sirs?"

" That'll be all. How much?"

" Twelve thirty."

" Right."

" Sir, let me pay."

" Absolutely not. I'm your teacher."

" Fine. Let's go dutch."

" Fair enough."

Shinichi emptied his wallet and dropped six dollars and fifteen cents on the table, while Mizakan-sensei did the same. It was ten minutes later when the two of them were sitting peacefully at a table at the far end of the school cafeteria. Mizakan was nibbling at the two cherries fondly, Shinichi sipping his coffee silently, watching his teacher from the top of his coffeecup for a moment before placing it on the table before him.

" Was there anything you wanted to speak to me specifically, sir?" Shinichi asked.

" Yes, in fact there is." Mizakan said, dropping the cherries from his mouth to the side of his plate. " I wanted to talk to you about the relationship between you and my fellow collegue, Miyano Shiho."

Shinichi raised an eyebrows. " Oh? Do you object it?"

" Not to the least." Mizakan said gently, and Shinichi blinked in surprise. " In fact I support it greatly."

Of all the things he expected his maths teacher to say, this was one that he had least thought of. His mouth was hanging open loosely, and shut it quickly as he noticed how stupid he looked in the mirror behind him. Mizakan chuckled.

" You're in love with her, aren't you?" he asked.

Shinichi would have avoided the question. He could have lied with the answer. He could have just walked off. But Mizakan was one of the best teachers in the school; caring and understanding students in their minds and movements and ways, and in some part of Shinichi, he just wanted to spill out everything to his teacher. " I love her." he said softly.

Mizakan smiled. " I guessed that on how happy you were when she agreed to go with you to the dance."

Shinichi smirked at him. " You're pretty good at deduction too." he said.

" It's not like you think it is." Mizakan said modestly. " It's just that I was in a similar situation too."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows. " Oh?" he asked. " How's that?"

Mizakan just sat there for a moment, and Shinichi made no movement to rush him. " Do you know a girl in the school by Akane Tendouji?" he asked, and Shinichi just nodded. Akane was one of the most popular girls in school. Aside from Ran and Sakura, that is. But she was kicked out of the three most popular girls with the arrival of Shiho Miyano. " Well, she and I carry a strong bond together. . .not in the way of you and Shiho though." he added, eyes twinkling. " But she's one of the few people in this school. . .possibly in this world. . .that really understands me."

Shinichi smiled warmly.

" That's a beautiful friendship right there." he said quietly.

Mizakan nodded. " Yes, indeed it is."

They stayed quiet for a short moment.

" So what's it like with you and Shiho?" Mizakan asked.

Shinichi blushed for a moment before smiling. " I'm not very good with words, but let me just put it in an emotion. . .if that's alright with you."

Mizakan grinned. " I'm not your Literature teacher, but alright."

" It's like when I ride my bike to school, and I'm just crossing the hedge to the school gates when I look down at the road, and beyond that path is the beautiful sea, and as I look beyond that, I can see the wonderful sunrise. It makes me feel warm, happy, tired, and yet just fantasizing its beauty all in that second. Happy to see it, happy to around it, happy that it's there for you."

Mizakan's eyes widened. " Wow, that's some pretty meaningful stuff."

Shinichi grinned. " Thanks."

" Kudo-kun? Mizakan-san?"

They spun around, and came face-to-face with a surprised-looking Shiho, her eyebrows raised, hands on her hips. " What are you doing here, Kudo? My class starts in ten minutes. Surely you weren't planning on skipping that."

He got to his feet hurriedly. " N- - -No! Of course not."

His heart was thumping painfully against his chest. What was wrong with him? Was he really that in love with Miyano-sensei? " Mizakan-sensei was just having words with me. Did you come here to pick me up?"

" Don't flatter yourself, Shinichi. I was just getting myself a coffee. Are you coming or not?"

But she noticed him looking at her with a goofy smile on his face.

" That was the first time you called me by my first name." he said.

A blush appeared on her cheeks. " I. . .I called you by that two days ago. . ." she stammered.

" This time it was on your own good will!" he said. " Shih- - -"

" It's MIYANO-sensei in school," she hissed, her blush increasing, spreading across her whole face, pointing at Mizakan. " Now are you coming with me or not?"

" You said you were here to get a coffee." Shinichi said slyly.

Shiho bit her lip, glaring at him. She knew she would never tell that she walked all the way down here to pick him up, it was just too embarrasing to admit for words. " Oh, go gnaw on a bone." she snapped, turning her heel and walking off.

" I was kidding!" Shinichi called out, pushing his chair aside and running after her.

Mizakan chuckled to himself and crossed his arms. " I think Shinichi's the only person on the face of this earth to make Shiho Miyano to look and feel that flustered." he said to himself.

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" Shiho!" he called out. " I was kidding!"

" DON'T call me by that name in school." she snapped. " God, where is your brain attached to?"

" Yeesh, cold." he said.

They made their way up the steps to the level of the physics room. " So what were the two of you talking about?" she asked him innocently, nodding at him in thanks as he kept the door open for her. He just remained quiet for a moment before shaking his head, almost humoringly robotic.  
" Nothing, actually." he said, trying to make it sound as carelessly as possible.

She simply raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

" So what will you be wearing?"

Shiho cocked her head and looked at him. " Curious?" she taunted, smirking.

" N. . .Not really." he stammered. " I just wanted to know what you would be wearing."

" That amounts to the same thing." she said, pleased that it was her turn to make him squrmish, a way of punishing him for making her lose her cool just a few minutes ago. Then she crossed her arms across her chest, clicking her tongue. " But don't worry." she continued, desire flooding her to break him. " It shows plenty of cleavage for all to see."

His blush deepened, and was about to say something to her when he noticed she was grinning. He glared at her, his blush disappearing. " You were doing that on purpose, weren't you?" he said.

" I don't know what you're talking about." she said in a mock innocent tone.

He sighed and made his way to the chemisty lab with her.

" I have a feeling today's going to be interesting." he said cheerfully.

" You think?" she said wirily.

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" You've SO got to be kidding."

Ran was smiling at her, a list in her hand. " Come on, Miyano-sensei." she said, ignoring the huffy looking Sonoko behind her. In fact, Shiho barely felt her presence in the room either. " It's just a simple karaoke that we decided to hold. . ." she was interrupted by Sonoko's loud snort before stalking off. " . . .And I wanted you and Shinichi to come along with us."

Shiho seemed to consider for a moment.

" Who else is going?" she asked resigningly.

" There's ME, of course." Ran said, shrugging as Shiho rolled her eyes. " Then Sonoko, Sanshriyuki, Yoro, Sakura. . .some of the girls in our class. . .I guess that's about it. Unless you and Shinichi agree to come along too, of course." she added hopefully.

Shiho bit her lip. " I don't know. . ." she started uncertainly. " I'm your teacher, and. . ."

" And what?" Ran asked. " That doesn't mean you can't be our friend."

Shiho's eyes widened before smiling warmly at her. " Yeah. I guess you're right."

" So you'll go?" she asked.

Shiho smirked. " Yeah."

" Great!" Ran exclaimed, running off. " Meet us after class, sensei!"

Shiho let out a rather arrested sigh and leaned against the whiteboard behind her.

" I can't believe you would agree to that," came a drawling voice behind her, and she flushed, glaring at the person.

" Relax, sensei." Shinichi said, taking a step backwards in fera in spite of himself. She looked away and he managed a goofy grin on his face.

" I'm not confident in my singing ability." she stated, chewing on her bottom lip.

Shinichi grinned. " Relax, I'm sure you would be able to sing like a bird."

" A crow, in any ways." she snapped.

He laughed, then nodded in Ran's direction. " Look how happy she is." he said.

She looked at Ran, who was telling Sakura the good news. The two of them waved at her. She froze for about a full second before she let a small smile slip through her defenses.

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" What? Miyano-sensei and Kudo are coming too?"

Sanshriyuki looked outraged, and Sonoko just shrugged. " There's no matter. You were unhappy to be invited anyway, might as well have some nice view while you're having a bad time, don't you think?"

" Shut up." he muttered, a tinge of red on his cheeks.  
" Besides, I don't see why you're so upset about Shiho. . ."

" Miyano-sensei." Sanshriyuki corrected her, once again.

" . . .Miyano-sensei. . ." Sonoko added, rather sheepishly. " . . .Choosing Shinichi over you. From what you told me, she merely saw him before you anyway. Since he already asked, it was obvious she would agree to him."

Sanshriyuki sighed and nodded. " I've lost, in other words."

" Don't be stupid." Sonoko snapped. " That's just an invitation to the dance on the same night as the auction, that's all. You can still win a date with her on that day, can't you?"

Sanshriyuki sighed. " Yeah. I guess."

She got to her feet and pointed at Ran, who was waving at the two of them. " In the meantime, let's just go meet Ran. She and the rest are waiting."

Sanshriyuki looked up, and saw them standing at Shiho's desk. Then his eyes fell upon Shiho, who was talking to Shinichi, a small smile on her face. He got up to his feet, eyes full of confidence and anger. " I'm not going to lose to him." he said, tight-lipped.

Sonoko forced a smile, ignoring the feelings for him. " That's the spirit." she said. " Now let's try to enjoy ourselves, shall we?"

He managed a small smirk.

" Yeah." he said. " Let's."

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Miyano glared at the phone before him, gnawing on his bottom lip. " Shuichi Akai. . ." he whispered to himself. Shutting his eyes, he grabbed the phone and pressed it against his ear, dialing a number hastily. " I thought you would stay away from my daughter like planned. . .and now you've just gone too far. Trying to kill of Shinichi, the person whom I chose to take your place. . .you stupid, ignorant. . ."

He was about to finish his sentence when the person at the other line answered.

" Yes." Miyano, otherwise known as the principal of the school, hissed. " I want to take him out. Get fifteen this time, lock and loaded." There was a crash of lightning that filled the sky. " Kill him." he ordered. " I want Akai Shuichi's dead body before him."

It was then when people looking from their own point of views would wonder if what the principal said before was true. All about letting his daughter make the right choice, and choose the right person. Maybe he was specifically suggesting Shinichi. Maybe Sanshriyuki. Maybe he would just want her to be alone, like she was for almost her entire life.

Did he lie to himself? You would ask.

Yes he did, I would then say to you. Yes he did.

END CHAPTER 13

Well, another cliffy. Would Shuichi die? What's going to happen at the karaoke? What songs shall they sing? Lolz. It's a twist of laughter and bitterness. The showdown of Shuichi and Shiho's father is beginning. And it would not take more than two chapters, I promise you. Please look foward to chapter 14. BTW: Who knows where I can download Conan episodes after episode 190 in japanese? Please tell me. THANK YOU!

**ReWieW ReSpOnSeS **

kris- - -Not a bad guess, but no.

Yume Takato- - -Hmm, that's tough.

SN 1987A- - -Yep, Galatea rocks. Lolz. Whoa, I'm glad for Sanshriyuki, I don't want his dead body over my fanfiction. XD. Thanks for the compliment about Akemi. She's really and cute in my opinion too. Please continue to read and review.

Alouette- - -Why, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Crystal Snowflakes- - -Thanks. I like doing cliffies, and I hope I'm pretty good at it. XD

ShinichiXShiho- - -Wow, you truly, if I may be so bold to say, are a fan of my story. You were so sharp in every way, and yes, I congradulate you for noticing it was Shinichi. Thank you for your support thus far!

Fanfic Maniac- - - -Lolz. And here it is.

amazonchick73- - -Thanks.

Silver Sky Magician- - -Well, my name's NOBODY. Nobody is perfect. Sorry, corny joke. Lolz. Please wait for chapter 14!Lolz!


	14. Karaoke aka Miyano vs Shuichi

Chapter 14 everyone. Please read and review! This chapter will be longer than the others, so please thank me for the effort! (Bows to imaginary applause)

CHAPTER 14

Shuichi was sitting in the dark surrounding of his house, his eyes shut slightly, rocking himself sounding in his chair. Some could say he was meditating, some could say he was merely thinking. Thinking about what, I do not know. But his fingers were rubbing against a small photo in the grasp of his hands, the colour faded by the possible droplets of rain, or the excess supplement of bleach.

Suddenly his eyes flickered open, and he turned around sharply to glare at the door behind him. There was something out there. He would almost feel the murky air surrounding him at the sense of it. It was placid, and was covering the atmosphere with another stench of betrayal.

" You filthy, lying hypocrite." Shuichi muttered, getting to his feet, kicking his chair backwards. He propped himself against the door, listening intently. He looked at the clock on his wall. It was just seven at night. Mighty early for Miyano to do this at this time, wasn't it? Twelve was more like his style. . .eleven, tops.

There was the dull sounds of the creaking of floorboards and a small grin lifted on his face. " That's the fifth step." He whispered to himself. " The floor will moan on the thirteenth."

As if on cue, there was a groaning on the ground and he burst out, hitting three men unconscious at once, rolling onto the ground, one of their guns in his hands, and he surveyed the area with raised eyebrows. " Come out, dogs of Shishio Miyano." He called out loudly, hitting off the light switch, hearing it whisper to itself as it turned off with a soft click.

Silence.

" Have it your way." He muttered, knocking against the ground softly, and hear the soft tinkering of kitchen utensils. He smirked to himself as the sound quickly subsided. " That was very stupid of you." He muttered to himself, dashing for the kitchen and grabbed the sole person who was inside and pinned him to the wall hearing him gasp out in pain. " How. . .did you know I was here?" he wheezed.

" The sound stopped too abruptly." Shuichi said, a twisted smirk on his face. " If you were hiding you would have desperately tried to stop the noise wouldn't you? But that's not the point now, is it?" he continued, the gun pointed directly at the ambusher. " How many more people are inside my house?"

" Twelve. . ." the person choked out.

" That's a lie, kid." Shuichi said, further choking the person. " Truth."

He was coughing. " T. . .Thirty-six."

Shuichi grimaced. " Crap." He said.

It was then when around twenty of them burst at him, hitting him at all sides. Cursing his own stupidity, he elbowed one in the jaw, bringing down around five, and butted his way through, ignoring the stabbing pains in his back as he felt a metal club slam itself against his back and dashed for the front door. There were gunshots that followed him, and he gasped in pain as a shot burst into his left leg, and he limped out, slamming the door behind him. He ducked behind the grass patch just outside his house, and the minute he rested in there, clutching his leg, the door burst open.

" Damn it." He muttered under his breath.

" Where did he go?" came a voice.

" He can't have gone far." Said another.

Silence.

" Let's search the area."

" Right."

Inside, a lone man stood there, a rifle in his hand when he noticed a picture lying on the ground, slightly damp. The colours of the picture was peeling, water soaking it lightly. He picked it up, and saw what it was. It was a picture of Akai Shuichi and Shiho Miyano, laughing, posing for the camera.

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" Alright, who wants to go first?"

" Ran, you're being a LITTLE too high over this whole ordeal, aren't you?" Sonoko asked wearily, while the six school girls giggled to themselves, seeming to share some private joke of their own. " The karaoke has barely started, and already you're like a schoolgirl on high."

The girls sobered up immediately.

Ran blushed and sat down. " Well, who wants to. . .?"

" We'd like to take a shot." The six girls said automatically, before giggling like crazy. Shinichi and Shiho exchanged a glance.

" What song are you planning on singing?" Yoro asked curiously.

" You'll see." One of them said, while the others burst into giggles again.

" I swear, they're on high." Shiho muttered, and Shinichi sniggered.

" Like Sonoko said." He said back.

" Here we go." One of them muttered, clicking on the machine.

" I wonder wha- - -" Shinichi started, but was cut in immediately.

_Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. . ._

_You give me something out of nothing, I'm totally into you,_

_Fro your face up to your waist down, and you don't have a clue._

_I'm breathing. . ._

_And needing. . .For myself to be with you. Now if I could lose my patience,_

_You would see my presence, and when you do. . ._

_XXX_

_Cos you make me feel. . ._

_Yeah, yeah yeah. . ._

_You walk in the crowd and I see you there,_

_You notice my presence but you don't even care. . .I love you from your toes to your hair. . .Bringing joy to my life like a woman to her heir. . ._

_Cos you make me feel. . ._

_Yeah, yeah yeah. . . ._

They ended with coy smiles at Shinichi before bursting into another fit of giggles, huddling into a circle, sneaking glances at Shinichi before bursting into laughter once more. Sonoko and Ran sneaked a look at each other and grinned.

Shiho smirked at Shinichi. " Well, YOU'RE certainly popular." She said.

" Shut up." He muttered, blushing. Somehow, he was secretly disappointed. At the least, he had expected her to be jealous or something. He sighed and raised his eyebrows at Yoro, who winked at him. He managed a small smile back.

" Who's next?" Ran asked.

" ME!" Yoro called excitedly, jumping on the balls of his feet.

" Right." Ran said, startled by his enthusiasm. " What are you going to sing?"

" Silence, baby cakes." Yoro said, winking at her. " This song is dedicated to you."

Shinichi smiled in Ran's direction, who blushed but smiled back, the girls in the corner bursting into a fit of giggles once more. " I never knew that Yoro would be a serious type of singer." Shinichi said to Shiho, folding his arms. Shiho shrugged.

" I wonder what he's going to. . .?" she started.

_My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,  
and they're like,  
its better than yours,  
damn right its better than yours,  
i can teach you,  
but i have to charge_

_I know you want it,  
the thing that makes me,  
what the guys go crazy for.  
They lose their minds,  
the way i wind,  
i think its time_

_la la-la la la,  
warm it up.  
lala-lalala,  
the boys are waiting_

_My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,  
and they're like,  
its better than yours,  
damn right its better than yours,  
i can teach you,  
but i have to charge_

_i can see youre on it,  
you want me to teach the  
techniques that freaks these boys,  
it can't be bought,  
just know, thieves get caught,  
watch if your smart,_

_la la-la la la,  
warm it up,  
la la-la la la,  
the boys are waiting,_

_My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,  
and they're like,  
its better than yours,  
damn right its better than yours,  
i can teach you,  
but i have to charge  
_

And they watched him with their jaws hanging open, his voice droning on, a huge grin on his face. It was then when Sonoko started to laugh. She was laughing so hard that tears were falling from her face, and Sanshriyuki looked at her, alarmed. But somehow, there was a small unknown grin on his face. The others started to laugh, finally joined in with Shinichi. Shiho and Shinichi exchanged a glance, and the two burst into laughter. Yoro finished with a standing ovation., and bowed and bowed for the many minutes onwards. Ran was the only one who wasn't laughing.

Her mouth was hanging open, spluttering.

" THAT'S your song dedication to me?" she asked.

He grinned. " Yeah." He said. " What do you think?"

Her mouth opened to say something before sighing and smiled. " Great." She said.

" Just don't sing that song in public, Yoroshodaki-kun." Shiho called out to him. " It's meant for a girl to sing it, but then again. . .whatever makes you happy."

Shinichi grinned while the others laughed.

" Is it alright if I go up next?" Sonoko asked, getting to her feet. " Ran, up and at them."

Ran raised her eyebrows. " Since when was I in the picture?" she asked.

" You are now." Sonoko said, grinning broadly. " Come on, it's not fun if I sing this song by myself."

" Like that's going to stop her." Sanshriyuki muttered, and Shiho's lips twitched.

_RAN: Boy you're so hard to believe _

_Boy you're so hard to believe _

_SONOKO: Just a friend _

_That's all I've ever been to you _

_Oh just a girl _

_Who wants to be the center of your world _

_But I ain't got much to offer _

_But my heart and soul _

_And I guess that's not enough _

_For you to notice me _

_I'm just a girl _

_And I guess that's all I'll ever be to you _

_To you _

_RAN: I try to smile when I see other girls with you _

_Acting like everything is ok _

_But ohh _

_You don't know how it feels to be so in love _

_With someone who doesn't even know _

_My secret love _

_SONOKO: In my dreams _

_I see us both together constantly _

_Why can't you see _

_This love that's here for you inside of me _

_Ohhh _

_What do I have to do _

_For you to notice this _

_You look at her with love _

_With me it's just friendship _

_I'm just your girl _

_And I guess that's all I'll ever be to you _

_To you _

_RAN: I try to smile when I see other girls with you _

_Acting like everything is ok _

_But ohh _

_you don't know how it feels to be so in love _

_With someone who doesn't even know _

_My secret love _

_SONOKO: What do you see in her _

_You don't see in me (don't see in me) _

_Boy you're so hard to believe _

_Why do you show her love _

_But there's none for me _

_Boy you don't make sense to me _

_Cause I don't have much to offer _

_But my heart and soul _

_And I guess that's not enough _

_For you to notice me _

_I'm just your girl _

_And I guess that's all I'll ever be to you _

_To you _

_RAN: I try to smile when I see other girls with you _

_Acting like everything is ok (everything ain't ok) _

_But ohh _

_you don't know how it feels to be so in love (so in love with_

_you baby) _

_With someone who doesn't even know _

_My secret love _

_Boy you're so hard to believe_

The others were speechless, before clapping.

" That was a nice duo." Shinichi said admiringly.

" Yes, I always knew that Mouri was good, but I didn't think that the rich girl would be great too." Shiho said, nodding her head in approval. It was at that second when she blinked as a streak of lightning blinded the sky for a moment. She looked up to the heavens.

Shuichi?

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Miyano was carefully looking through his paperwork calmly, and was about to pack up and leave for home when the hairs on his back stood to an end. His eyes widened before shutting his eyes, clenching his teeth. " You managed to escape, Akai." He said.

Shuichi, half of his forehead totally covered with blood now, held a gun up to Miyano's head. His eyes were bloodshot, face contorted with fury and stanching with disgust and hate. He was taking shallow breaths, and Miyano couldn't stand but notice a patch of blood dampening the shirt on his shoulder. " You piece of scum." Shuichi growled, his fingers on the trigger. " We had a deal. I keep away from your daughter and you leave me alone. One of us didn't uphold the deal, didn't we?"

" It was you who broke the rules, Akai!" Miyano hissed. " What the Hell were you doing with Kudo Shinichi? He's the one chosen to be with my daughter, not you!"

Akai grabbed Miyano by his collar and slammed him into the wall behind him, hearing him choke, hearing him gasp for breath. " Let's make this very clear between the two of us. . ." Shuichi hissed. " I have no intention of killing or hurting him. Which is pretty much the direct opposite of what I want to do to you right now."

The gun in his hand traveled to Miyano's heart.

" I could kill you now." Akai whispered. " And nobody would give a damn."

" Then do it, you coward!" Miyano hissed. " Useless piece of crap! You're supposed to box out your emotions, yet you still pine over a past girl-friend!"

Akai's gun hammered into Miyano's chest and he winced in pain.

" That GIRL-FRIEND, happens to be your daughter, Miyano." Akai growled.

" Not anymore, she isn't." Miyano managed to gasp, a smirk on his face. " I should have ditched her years ago. That slimy piece of filth, just like her sister too. . ."

Shuichi slammed him face-first into his desk, and Miyano yelled in pain, the gun on the back of his head now, blood dripping from his nose. " Don't you dare call her that." Shuichi said coldly.

" And what would you do if I do?" Miyano said with gritted teeth.

" I'll murder you." Shuichi said.

" You wouldn't." Miyano said, smirking with as much dignity as a person could with his face almost plastered onto the table before him. " You're not as stone cold as you were before you met my daughter. She defrosted you didn't she?"

Shuichi grabbed his head upwards before hitting it onto the table once more. " You ditched her, didn't you?" he said, his fingers once again clenched on the trigger.

Another flash of lightning crossed the sky.

He looked at the sky.

Shiho?

He shook himself, the gun on Miyano's head. An unknown tear fell from his face. " Goodbye, Miyano-san." He said quietly. " I didn't want to kill you, I really didn't."

There was no gunshot, but the soft sound of a cracking backbone. The principal screamed before falling to the ground, unconscious, almost dead, barely alive. " And I still don't." he finished, walking away from the limped body. " You'll be awake soon. . .I didn't hurt you that bad. Not as much as you did to me, anyway. But you'd probably never walk normally again."

Silence.

" I hate you, Miyano." He said. " Someday you're going to kill me, I just know it. But when that comes I'm going to have to drag you to the death tomb with me. . .and Shiho's not going to be involved."

In he felt the principal's office.

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" Miyano-sensei?" Shinichi asked, and Shiho was brought back to earth.

She rubbed her forehead tiredly. " I'm fine." She said, answering his silent question. She looked up, and noticed Sanshriyuki coming back from the stage with Yoro, looking sulky yet rather pleased with himself. She raised her eyebrows at Shinichi. " Did the two of them go?"

" Yep." Shinichi replied. " Had a double collaboration. It wasn't half-bad."

" What did they sing?" she asked.

" It's My Life by Bon Jovi." Shinichi replied. " They were nothing compared to Ran and Sonoko, but hey, it was good. I can't believe you could miss it, they were singing loud."

Shiho nodded, then sweatdropped as she noticed everyone staring at the two of them.

" It's your turn, Miyano-sensei." Ran said slyly.

Crap.

Shiho tried vainly to make excuses but Ran and the rest were too sharp, and she was forced to the stage. She bit her lip as she fiddled with her collar, scanning through the songs when she blinked. This scene seemed familiar. She remembered the first time that she sang was. . .

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" _Akai, let's not do this." Shiho said._

" _Come on, Miyano." Shuichi said, a small grin on his face. " I already sang something, it's all in the way of a two-person karaoke if you sing too."_

" _I wanted to watch a movie." Shiho said huffily._

" _Come on, sing something." Shuichi said, lounging in his chair._

_Shiho glared at him before looking at the tracks. It was around twenty minutes when Shuichi rolled his eyes and bobbed his head up from his nap. " Come on, Miyano." He said. " We don't have all day. Look, I'll pick something out for you, alright?"_

" _Please, Shuichi." Shiho said, almost begging. " I'm not much of a. . ."_

" _. . .Pleader?" he said, grinning._

_She glared at him and he chuckled, before his fingers rested on a particular song, and he clicked on it. The tune sounded around the room, and she raised her eyebrows at him as she listened to it intently. " This song sounds like rubbish." She said._

" _That's not very nice." He said. " I like it."_

" _Which says a lot about your taste in music." She said._

" _Come on." He said, finally giving her a true smile. " Please."_

_She bit her lip, trying to conceal her smile. " Fine." She said._

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Shiho licked her lips.

' This is dedicated to you, Shuichi.' She thought to herself.

_Ever since the day you went away and left me lonely and cold  
My life just hasn't been the same ohh baby, nooo  
When I looked into your eyes the moment that I let you go  
I just broke down (down)_

_Baby if I ever get the chance to be with you again I would sacrifice  
Cuz the feeling that I feel within  
No other man would ever make me feel so right  
Its nice to smile when I get your phone call at night  
But I'd rather have you here with me, right next to me  
I miss the way you hold me tight_

_I gotta let you know I feel so weak without your touch  
I never thought that I could ever love a man so much  
I gotta let you know I think that we are destiny  
For you I'd cross the world, for you I'd do anything_

_Thats right baby I'm going crazy  
I need to be your lady  
I've been thinking lately  
That you and me, yes we can make it  
Just ride with me, roll with me I'm in love with you baby_

_Break it down now I'll tell you what I feel  
From the moment that I met you its been so damn real  
My heart seems to skip another beat  
Every time we speak, I can't believe I feel so weak  
Tell me that you really need me and you want me and you miss me  
And you love me I'm your lady  
I'll be around waiting for you I'll put it down be the woman for you_

_I'm falling so deep for you crazy over for you  
Im calling, calling out to you what am I going to do?  
It's true, no fronting  
Its you and no other i can no longer go on without you   
I'll just break down (down)_

_I gotta let you know I feel so weak without your touch  
I never thought that I could ever love a man so much  
I gotta let you know I think that we are destiny  
For you I'd cross the world, for you I'd do anything_

_Thats right baby I'm going crazy  
I need to be your lady  
I've been thinking lately  
That you and me, yes we can make it  
Just ride with me, roll with me I'm in love with you baby_

_Ohhh, ohhh...  
Crazy... lady... lately...  
Ohhh ohhh...  
Ohh ohhh ohhhhhh  
Baby..._

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Along the corridors, Shuichi heard her.

A lone tear fell from his face as he smiled.

" Baka." He whispered. " Baka."

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She blinked to herself, tears threatening to fall but she held herself. That was funny. She never knew she missed Shuichi so much. She looked at Shinichi, and he was smiling at her. She walked down, ignoring the cheers and claps from the others and sat down beside Shinichi.

" You still miss him, don't you?" Shinichi said quietly.

Shiho bit her lip once again, and nodded.

He shut his eyes tightly before getting to his feet. He walked away and moved to the stage, straightening up. The others stopped clapping and listened intently.

_You don't run with the crowd  
You go your own way  
You don't play after dark  
You light up my day  
Got your own kind of style   
That sets you apart  
Baby, that's why you captured my heart_

_I know sometimes you feel like you don't fit in  
And this world doesn't know what you have within  
When I look at you, I see something rare  
A rose that can grow anywhere (grow anywhere)  
And there's no one I know that can compare_

_What makes you different, (alright) makes you beautiful (alright)  
What's there inside you, (alright) shines through to me  
In your eyes I see, all the love I'll ever need  
You're all I need, oh girl  
What makes you different, makes you beautiful to me_

_Hey, yeah yeah yeah  
You got something so real  
You touched me so deep (touched me so deep)  
See material things  
Don't matter to me   
So come as you are  
You've got nothing to prove  
You won me with all that you do  
And I wanna take this chance to say to you _

_What makes you different, (alright, yeah yeah) makes you beautiful (alright)  
What's there inside you, (alright) shines through to me  
In your eyes I see, all the love I'll ever need   
You're all I need, oh girl  
What makes you different, makes you beautiful_

_You don't know (you don't know) how you touched my life (touched my life)  
Oh in so many ways (so many ways) I just can't describe  
You taught me what love is supposed to be   
You saw the little things that make you beautiful to me (so beautiful)  
Oh yeah, yeah_

_What makes you,  
What makes you different, (what makes) makes you beautiful (to me)  
What's there inside you, (there shines) shines through to me  
In your eyes I see, all the love I'll ever need  
You're all I need, oh girl  
What makes you different, makes you beautiful to me _

_Everything you do is beautiful (so beautiful)  
Love you give shines right through me (shines right through to me)  
Everything you do is beautiful (ooh, ooh ooh ooh oh)  
Oh, you're beautiful to me (to me)_

Silence.

He grinned at the others, and he noticed Shiho's eyes brimmed with tears. His eyes widened. ' Damn, did I let the cat out of the bag already?' he thought desperately. He ignored the other looks of the others, his eyes catching Shiho as he walked over to her, and stood before her, She wiped her tears away, and looked up at him. His heart was beating faster than never before, and he gulped.

" Miyano-sensei?" he asked.

Did she. . .

Did she. . .

Did she. . .

Did she know?

" Kudo. . ." she started.

He gulped once again.

" Yes?" he asked.

Silence.

" You suck at singing." She said.

END CHAPTER 14

What do you think? To say myself, I'm not really fond of this chapter. It doesn't flow too well, in my opinion anyway. But if you liked it, I thank you in advance! Please keep reading and reviewing, and I'll post as quick as I can! Are you glad that Shuichi lived? Or do you wish he died? I already have Shinichi's confession planned out. It'll be less than five chapters before he tells Shiho he loves her, I guess. See you in chapter 15!

**ReWiEw ReSpOnSeS**

AmazonChick73- - -Whoa, just reach out for my hand and you'll be alright.

Spede- - -Yep. But against thirty-over people, he's lucky to be alive, eh? Cheers to you too.  Welcome back.

Kris- - -I'll try.

SN 1987A- - -Mm? When did he ever die? But thanks anyway. Yep, 9 doesn't sound like a lot, but it just brings me back to reality. Doh. Lolz. Please keep reading this story!

YumeTakato- - -Oh well. Thanks anyway.

ShinichixShiho- - -Thanks for the compliment. What was in the box? Just read back and find out.  Lolz. If you still don't get it, I'll answer you in the next chapter.

anime-obsession260- - -Nepz, he didn't. Just the assumation of the stupid father of Shiho. Lolz. Hey where's your Silent Life going on? I'm waiting for it! 


	15. A Deliverance

Chapter 15 my friends! I'll try my best to speed up in chapters so keep reading and reviewing! HOORAH! HOORAH! Plus, thank you very much to YumeTakato for adding this story to her C2, Memory For You. Thanks a lot! By the way, my grandfather. . .one of the people I respect the most in this world. . .might have cancer, and has to go for an operation soon. Please help me pray for him everyone, I would appreciate it a lot. Thanks!

CHAPTER 15

" Aw, come on, nee-san. . ."

Akemi looked at her sister dreamily.

" What's wrong?" she asked, her legs high up in the air, kicking against the mattress below her, her body sprawled up upon her bed, watching Shiho try on the dress that she had bought for her. " I think that it fits you pretty well."

" Nee-san, it's appallingly low-cut." Shiho said, flushing. " You can't possibly think that I would wear this kind of dress to the school dance in front of the student and fellow teachers. . ."

" And why not?" Akemi said coyly. " The main thing is that you likecoyly. " The main thing is that you like it, right?"

Shiho bit her lip and looked herself in the mirror. Akemi had made her bundle up her hair in a tight bun, which went along fine with her purple gown that followed downwards, which seemed to split in the lower half of the dress, showing her left leg up until her upper thighs. " It isn't **that** horrific to look at," Shiho caught herself saying; something which most people would take as an insult desperately trying to sound like a compliment. Akemi, however, saw it differently.

" I knew you'd like it!" she exclaimed, bouncing up from the bed, overjoyed.

" Nee-san. . ." Shiho started slowly, but stopped in mid-sentence as Akemi clasped her hands into hers tightly.

" So." Akemi said. " Who are you going with?"

" Kudo Shinichi." Shiho said flatly, adjusting her hair in the mirror for a moment. When she received no reply from her sister, she sighed depressingly and turned around. " Nee-san. . ." she started, meeting with Akemi's gleaming eyes. " It's no big deal. He asked me before anyone else, so as I said before, I would go with the first person that asks me to the dance, remember?"

" Yes, but still. . ." Akemi started slowly, sounding rather disappointed by her sister's factual answer. " You're still kind of glad that he asked you over the many guys in the school, right?"

" I don't know what you�9 away, yet she was unable to hide the red stains appearing on her cheeks, which was something that her sister never missed.

" I'm eating lunch with some friends." Akemi said, turning her heel slowly and purpously, and started to make her way out of her room. " Sorry if I can't make it today."

" It's alright." Shiho said simply. " I'll just. . ."

She caught herself in time, noticing Akemi's sly grin.

" Nice try." Shiho said wearily. " See you later."

Akemi gave Shiho one last smile before disappearing behind the door.

Shiho sighed and looked at her alarm clock. " It's one-fifteen." She muttered to herself, looking out the window. She took the handphone found on her nightstand and looked at it, almost accusingly. " I wonder what Kudo's doing now?" she said to herself, pressing the number on speed dial 3.

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Shinichi sighed, taking another glance at the homework on his bedside table and groaned. " This is going to take me forever." He said, glaring at the worksheets angrily before taking another sheet in the pile. His eyebrows raised as he heard the soft ringing of his house phone. " Go away!" he yelled out to it, before starting on the homework before him.

" Oh crap, it's Shiho's homework." He groaned, slapping his forehead. " She's a good teacher and person and all, but her homework stinks to the deepest pits of. . ."

Ring Ring. . .

" Go away!" Shinichi yelled at the phone again, and this time, as if on his command, it stopped abruptly. He grinned triumphantly, and was about to get on with the work before him once again, when this time his handphone rang. He groaned and ignored it, getting back to his work. " Damn, so many darn calculations. . ." he muttered to himself, gnawing on the pencil. " Why is she such a sadistic person in the workroom. . .why won't you leave?" he yelled at the phone.

It didn't stop ringing.

It was torturous.

It was like a mosquito in a room.

Why on earth did he choose to have a guitar solo as his ringtone?

He sighed in defeat and pressed the phone against his ear.

" Whoever this may be, this better be important." He said irritatibly.

" In that case, I'd be better off hanging up." Came an amused voice at the other end.

He sat up upright, heart beating fast. " Shiho?" he said feebly.

" No." she said sarcastically. " It's Santa Clause. Listen. . .Are you free for lunch?"

" Like. . .as in. . .a date?" Shinichi asked, heart thumping against his chest, sounding much more cocky than he was feeling at the moment.

" Don't try to be cute." She snapped. " I was just wondering if you were free."

His heart lifted, and was close to agree, before he remembered the huge pile of homework on his table. He looked at it for a short while before sighing and smiling.

" Yep." He said cheerfully. " Free as a bird."

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It was two days after that when the students heard of the position of the principal had been given off to the vice-principal for the meantime while their current one was in the hospital due to severe back injuries. There was a buzz at that, but they accepted it after some time.

It was on that day when Shuichi called for Shinichi once more. The message was stuffed in one of the shoes found in his shoe cabinet, deep inside the sole of it. The shoe, I meant, not the cabinet. Shinichi raised an eyebrow and opened it deftly, reading it.

_Kudo, see me in the PE storeroom during your recess._

" Well, that's good to know." Shinichi said, grinning broadly.

He was actually looking forward to having a good chat with Shuichi, and was worried when he hadn't contacted him the last few days. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, ready to make his way up the steps when he was stopped by three blushing schoolgirls just below his grade. " Er. . .can I help you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

They paused for a moment before running away, screaming and crying.

Shinichi sweatdropped, scratching the back of his head.

" What the Heck was that?" he asked himself.

" I guess they wanted to ask you out, kiddo." Came Yoro's voice beside him, humming a tune happily. Shinichi turned, a confused look on his face. Yoro said nothing else but pointed in the direction of Ran. Shinichi looked, and his eyes widened as he noticed a huge amount of guys crowding around Ran, who was apologizing to each and every one profusely.

" Yep, every single one of her admirers." Yoro said. He was smiling, but his eyes were iced with jealousy. " I was pushed away from the crowd when we arrived, and they almost pounced on her in the process of asking her out. Hey Kudo. . .check that out, there's a girl trying to ask her out. . ."

They stared, slack-jawed, before shivering, and made their way up the stairs.

" Didn't anyone ask you to the dance, Yoro?" Shinichi asked curiously.

" Not ever since I confessed my love for Ran in the middle of class." Yoro said, laughing as two girls bowed at him, congratulating him for ending up with Ran. " I swear, it was just total silence for ten whole minutes."

" Did she give you a reply yet?" Shinichi asked.

" Not yet." Yoro said, sighing. " But I have a feeling she will."

Shinichi nodded at him before he froze in mid-step.

" What's wrong?" Yoro asked him, before noticing what Shinichi saw.

There were boys crowding around Shiho Miyano, asking her out at the same time. She was biting her lip and saying something to them, seemingly in a forced politeness.

" I guess really Miyano-sensei's too." Yoro muttered, looking at Shinichi, and his eyes widened as he noticed something strange in his eyes. There was pride inside it, almost proud of his taste, but there was a strange flicker of jealousy and rage that dwelled inside, his teeth clenched at the sight.

" Kudo?" Yoro asked, and Shinichi was brought back forcefully to earth.

" It's nothing." He muttered, turning his heel. " Come on. Let's take a short cut."

He walked off, and Yoro stared at his back.

" Kudo. . ." he muttered silently, almost to himself. " Do you love Miyano-sensei?"

Shinichi heard it.

Every word.

And as they walked on silently, his head nodded a fraction of an inch, his back still facing Yoro. " I do, Yoro." He whispered to himself. " I do."

And Yoro heard him too.

He smiled.

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Recess.

The four teachers sat together once more, grins on their faces.

" Show us the grades, Ayako-san." Mizakan said pleasantly. " Although until now, I still can't believe that you managed to count every single one of the fans of each of them at the same time."

" Certainly. And my friend helped me out with it. She's a mathematics teacher anyway." Ayako said, opening up the book and raised her eyebrows at it. "Hey, this certainly is strange. Miss Miyano won in votes, but Ran won her in popularity of asking out. Shiho got sixty nine boys who asked her out, while Ran got seventy four. . .including a girl."

The others raised their eyebrows.

" That's disgusting." Takato said, pursing her lips.

" That's lovely." Baki said, licking his lips.

" In any case, I was wondering who would win in the auction." Ayako said, shutting the book.

" Better not let Miyano hear you say that." Mizakan said mildly.

" She hates being speaken of like a painting, right?" Takato said.

" I wouldn't mind a. . ." Baki started.

" . . .Nude painting." Ayako ended for him, slapping him on the head. " Is that all that goes through your mind?"

" You could say that." Baki said cheekily.

" Which reminds me," Mizakan said, stopping Ayako from slapping Baki once more. " There's this whole question about who would be better together with Shiho Miyano, Yoro, Sanshriyuki or Shinichi."

The others stayed silent, thinking.

" That's an interesting question, Mizakan." Takato said thoughtfully.

" Thank you." Mizakan said good-naturedly.

" I think Yoro's definitely out of the question." Ayako said. " He's in love with Ran Mouri. He yelled out his love for her in the middle of my class."

" No way!" Baki exclaimed. " How did she react?"

" She was in the toilet." Ayako said, and the rest burst out laughing.

" Since that puts Yoro out of the picture. . ." Mizakan said slowly. " That would have to mean that either Shinichi or Sanshriyuki would be the one who ends up with her."

" What if it's someone besides the two of them?" Takato asked.

" Let's just put these two in the contexture for the time being." Mizakan said.

" Alright." Baki said, sounding interested. " I think it should be Sanshriyuki, because both of them have nice bodies."

There was absolute, total silence that followed that.

" I think it should be Shinichi." Takato said dreamily, breaking the eerie silence. " They **do** look really cute together."

" I agree with that." Ayako said. " But aren't teacher-student relationships banned?"

" That's just some stereotyped thought." Mizakan said calmly. " As long as we keep it under out hats, everything would be alright."

" So who do you side, Mizakan?" Baki asked.

Mizakan just lifted his coffee cup from its saucer, and sipped it quietly, a small smile on his lips. And nobody had a further doubt on who he thought she would end up with.

No questions asked.

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" So you came." Shuichi said.

Shinichi locked the door behind him, and grinned at Shuichi.

" Good afternoon." He said.

" Yeah." Shuichi said, leaning against the wall behind him, wincing at the contact with his open wound. Shinichi looked at him worriedly, but Shuichi just shrugged it off. " I'm alright." He just said plainly, clearly not wanting to go further into the facts. " Just a little accident that's all. But screw that, did Shiho agree to go with you?"

Shinichi blushed, and nodded.

Shuichi smiled.

" That's good to know." He said quietly.

They stayed in silence for a short while.

" Did you want to talk to me about something?" Shinichi asked him.

" Yeah. . ." Shuichi said heavily, sounding depressed all of a sudden. " I don't think I can appear before you for some time. Or anyone, for that matter."

" Why?" Shinichi asked, concerned.

" Do you remember the principal being in hospital?" he asked.

" Yeah." Shinichi said.

Silence.

Shinichi's eyes widened.

" It was YOU?" Shinichi gasped.

" Yes." Shuichi said impatiently. " But he started it." He added, sounding incredibly childish. " In any case, I cannot be seen by anyone, but I'll try to have one last chat with you sooner or later."

Shinichi looked at him, dumb-struck.

" Shuichi. . ." he started. " How could you. . .?"

" He's Shiho's father." Shuichi said to him. " He dumped her when she was a kid."

Silence once again.

" That asshole." Shinichi growled.

Shuichi smirked.

" I believe thanks are in order?" he asked, and Shinichi smiled.

" Yeah. I forgive you for that." He said.

" I'm glad." Shuichi said, making his way out.

" Shuichi." Shinichi called out, and he stopped.

" Yeah?" he muttered.

Shinichi bit his lip.

" Come visit me again, alright?" he said.

Shuichi's eyes widened before smiling at him.

" Yeah." He said. " You can bet on that."

And he left.

Shinichi just stayed in that PE cabinet for a while before sighing and sinking down onto the ground. " Please don't get caught." He whispered to himself.

Shuichi stood by the other side of the door and smiled.

" That's got to be the only person who cared for me besides Shiho." He said, touching out gently to reach Shinichi, only to be stopped by the door.

He walked away.

" You two are really meant for each other, Shinichi." he said, tears brimming in his eyes. " And I feel happy for you, not as her lover. . .but as a brother to you, and a friend of hers."

END CHAPTER 15

What do you think? The next two or three chapters would be the last ones before the dance. This story would end at the dance, in case some of you were wondering. Please read and review! By the way, if you were interested, The speed dials on Shiho's phone are. . .One is Akai Shuichi. Two is Akemi Miyano. Three is Kudo Shinichi. Four is the school. Five is her fellow teacher in the school.

**ReWiEw ReSpOnSeS**

anime-obsession260- - -Thanks, I like Shuichi a lot too. And sorry for your loved ones, may they rest in peace. Please update your story when you have the time and mood.

That Guy- - -Your wish is my command Grins Thanks for the compliment, it made me really happy when I read it. Whoa, one hour? I thought it would at least take two. . .how fast can you read a Harry Potter book anyway? Lolz.

death88- - - Aw, thanks! But yeah, I'm not fond of the dubbed version. Haibara's voice sounds so. . .weird. Dammit. Anyway, thanks for adding me to your favourites!

SN 1987A- - -Haha. Yes, I got the name from there. I wanted a name, so I go Shishio. I wanted to get Aoshi, but it would be an insult to his name, wouldn't it? Lolz. ( Soujiro rocks!) Hey, I have a question. When you said update, were you talking to the radio too? Hahaha. . .sorry, corny pun. Please continue to update your story!

First Silvera- - -Yeah, I plan to. In any case, I thank you for reading my story all this long. Because the way you writer yours. . .Encounter In Venice is SO FREAKING COOL! And the way you name your chapters and characterize them in ways of books. . .Sorry, I'm rambling. Please continue to update yours story and read mine!

AmazonChick73- - -Mmm, in the mindsight of Shuichi eh? Lolz. Thanks for the review.

Kris- - -Mm? Oh, sure. They're kinda old school though. There's Milkshake by Kelis, My Secret Love by JoJo, Going Crazy by Natalie, What Makes you Different Makes you beautiful.

Vash- - -Hey, no harm done. Thanks for the reviews.

ShinichixShiho- - -Yeah, beat him to death! But, I need him alive in the story, so I guess I'll let him live. Thanks for all you guys for cheering Shuichi on. I love him a lot too. They were having the karaoke in school, one of them brought the karaoke box, remember? And thanks for being a fan. That makes me feel so warm inside. (Awww. . .) I'm thinking of making Shinichi to confess to her faster than that, I guess. I want to get to that part too. Grins The next chapter might take some time. I'm on it, the first quarter of it 's completed. Just need to think of how to continue that. . . (sheepish grin)

YumeTakato- - -Lolz. Yeah, he is.

. . . - - -Yeah, that's true. But I like that song, so I wanted to write it down. I just pictured the scene to be everyone just staring slack-jawed at him while he sings or something.


	16. Confessions

Chapter 16! Sorry for the long wait, but the dance is FINALLY up and ready for everyone to see! High-fives for everybody! Drinks on me, up the cups! The dance will probably be three to four chapters long, I suppose. If possible, maybe even more. But there could be a possibility for less, I don't know. It's imminent, I suppose. In any case, the end of this story is near. So here it is guys! Please read and review!

CHAPTER 16

" You seem jittery, Kudo."

" Maybe that's because I **am**, Einstein." Shinichi said witheringly.

" Yeesh," Yoro said, chuckling. " Cold."

" Well, unlike you, I have the human feeling called pressure." Shinichi said, buttoning up his suit nervously. " In case you haven't noticed, I'm going out with the most popular teacher in the entire school." He and Yoro had met up at his house, and were planning to meet up Ran and Shiho together at the same time. The first reason was to lessen the nervousness of the four of them, and the next reason was that Yoro was broke, and had to borrow Shinichi's car.

" Excuse me?" Yoro said, cocking his brow. " In case you haven't noticed, I'm going out with the most popular girl in the school. I'm jittery as hell!"

" Jittery?" Shinichi asked, snorting. " You?"

" Hey, it's just the way I am, alright?" Yoro said, taking a quick look at himself in the mirror before winking roguishly dreamily. " I joke more when I'm jittery, alright?"

" Wow." Shinichi said, looking at Yoro in a new found light. " IU never saw you as that sort of person."

" Oh?" Yoro asked. " And what did you see me as?"

" Well, I just saw you as a simple butterfly, you know?" Shinichi said, leaning against the wall. Yoro looked at him with a bemused expression. " Carefree and silent," Shinichi started, grinning at him, earning a grateful nod from his friend. " Happy. . .and well, just glad with the way its life is."

Yoro smirked at him, hands in pockets.

" Well, Kudo. . ." he said slowly. " As you know from basic science, a caterpillar had to struggle like crazy to become the butterfly that is currently is today."

Shinichi blinked. Come to think of it, Yoro's past was still mysterious to him until this date. " Well then. . ." he started, but stopped abruptly at the sight of something that ran through Yoro's eyes. Something that he had never known that he would see in his friend's eyes. But soon it was gone, and his friend just smiled back at him.

" It's getting late." Yoro said cheerfully, spinning his heel to walk towards the door. " We don't want the two lovely ladies to wait for us, don't we?"

Shinichi was brought sharply back to life and grinned back. " Yeah." He said. " Let's go."

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" Oh, Yoro, you shouldn't have." Ran said.

" Yeah right," Yoro said, rolling his eyes, but was still hugging her back, her arms wrapped around his neck. She looked really pretty in her dark blue gown, which hugged her curves, which was still surrounding her legs at a pool at her feet. " For mere flowers you get all happy and alleviated. When I dedicate a song to you at a karaoke you just go all. . ."

" That was not sweet at all!" she snapped, raising her voice suddenly.

" So would you rate it salty instead?" Yoro chuckled.

Shinichi grinned as he watched as Ran bit her lip but accepted Yoro's kiss, before hugging him once more. Ran was facing Shinichi all this while, and as her arms were wrapped around Yoro's, they both sneaked a look at each other. Shinichi gave her a thumbs-up sign, winking at her cheekily, a huge grin on his face. Her eyes widened, before smiling warmly at him.

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" You're late." Shiho scowled.

Shinichi dodged a shoe flying in his direction, which was caught by Yoro swiftly, and smiled sheepishly at Shiho who was standing at the stop, her arms crossed across her chest, her lips pressed against each other tightly. The reaction of the two women were exactly world's apart. But asides from the questionably rude reaction from Shiho at Shinichi for being late, the three of them were dazzled by her beauty. Even Ran was nodding at Shiho approvingly.

There was a necklace on her neck, the glitter of jewels at her throat, her perfume adding a lush evanescent spice to the flower in the air. Shinichi was spellbound by the sheer beauty of her appearance.

" Purple really suits you, Shiho." Shinichi said, blushing at the sight of the perfect view of her cleavage. She blushed back, in spite of herself, and was about to wave goodbye to her sister when she noticed at Akemi was watching her all along. She sighed as she waved briefly at Akemi, whose digital camera was still in her hand, the zoom of the camera going in freakishly near to Shinichi's face.

" Nee-san. . ." she said warningly.

" Aw, you two look really cute!" Akemi said adoringly, hugging her camera adoringly. " I might just follow you guys to the dance if I feel like it. . ."

" I'll tell you when we get back." Shiho said, pushing the others out of the house, slamming the door behind her almost violently. Akemi smiled slyly to herself and placed her hands against her hips.

" There's no way I'm going to miss the view of my sister being bid on by a million lust-hungry boys." She said, giggling to herself, getting the keys to her car, sitting innocently on the table near her.

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Close your eyes for a moment alright?

Okay, open them again, or else you would not be able to read my story. Okay. Imagine four of the most popular people in school alright? Okay, that's done. Then imagine two of the girls walking in with tight-fitted dresses, showing fantastic amounts of cleavage. Done with that? Now imagine the two most popular guys with their arms around their waists.

What could happen when hundreds of others see that?

Oh yeah, and by the way? One of the popular girls is a teacher.

There were dirty looks cast upon the girls or guys in jealousy, some were looking with signs of lust, some happiness, some just neutral. But there were whispers that went around from all four sides of the hall, grins here and there, scowls in another.

Shiho fingered her hair nervously, desperately trying to stop her dress from showing too much of her leg from the low cut skirt. Shinichi noticed this and grinned at her. She glared at him and he looked away. Shiho looked sideways at Yoro, who was bowing to the many girls who were laughing along with him; Ran inside the crowd laughing along. Shiho smiled softly.

Trust Yoro to be able to be calm about everything.

" Come on." Shinichi said, holding out for Shiho's hand, and she stared at it warily. " Come," he said again. " I'll help you get some punch."

She followed him past the crowd, smiling nervously at the people who waved at her from all sides.

Sanshriyuki glared at Shinichi before swallowing the punch that Sonoko had passed him. Sonoko bit her lip at the sight but put on a smile. " Come on, Sanshriyuki." She said comfortingly. " It's just a small fling. You can win her over in the balloting later on."

" Yeah." Sanshriyuki said, dropping the cup on the table. " You're right. Come on, I'll get you some punch."

Sonoko blushed and smiled, following after him.

Mizakan-sensei skirted through the crow, smiling at the students who waved at him, and unknowingly made his way to the dance floor. He sighed as he watched the many students dance across the dance floor happily; some laughing, some crying, some kissing. It was a magical moment for everyone around. He sighed as he leaned against the wall behind him; ready to walk off when he heard a familiar voice.

" May I have this dance, sensei?"

He turned around, eyes widening with shock at who he saw.

" Akane?" he whispered.

" Yeah." She said cheerfully. She was wearing a bage coloured dress that fell to her knees, and in her hand was not a crutch, but it was extended towards Mizakan. " I didn't want to miss the chance to dance with you for the world."

His eyes widened before turning into a broad smile.

" It would be a honour." He whispered, and took her hand, and danced with her with everything he had, and could give.

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" It's really noisy in here, isn't it?" Shinichi said cheerfully, looking around him.

" Yes." Shiho said dismissively. " So it is."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows but handed her her drink; in which she accepted it with a nod of thanks. Shinichi gulped as he straightened his tie. Soon after this dance, they would get back to studies. And then it would be time for him to go to college. What would that make of him? And what would that make of her? Would he get to see her again?

Talk to her?

Hear her laugh?

Watch her smile?

He bit his lip and gazed up at the sky.

_I love Shiho Miyano. _He said to himself.

It was not a declaration.

Nor was it an unanswered question, asking himself.

But it was a truth.

An undivided fact.

And nothing she would do would change that.

He smiled down at her, and she looked up.

" You're really beautiful tonight, Shiho." He said.

" You're not talking to my cleavage, are you?" she said sarcastically.

" No." he said quietly, and the smirk fell off her face. " You really are. And I mean not just for tonight."

Something passed through the both of them at this.

Woman looked at man.

Man looked at woman.

A silent conversation passed through them.

It was something.

Just something.

Shinichi was not sure what it was, but it was something.

Something.

" Want more punch?" he asked, smiling at her.

She looked away, face burning.

" Yeah. . ." she said quietly. " That would be nice."

He grinned and got ready to draw her a drink when he stopped.

" Shiho." He said, and she looked at him.

" What is it?" she asked.

" I have something I have to tell you." He said. " Can I speak to you at the porch later?"

Her eyes widened.

A small, thin smile filled his face.

" Alone."

She seemed to ponder on that for a moment before finally nodding.

" Alright." She said.

In the shadows, Akemi was videotaping the entire thing. She giggled to herself. " Oh my Gosh, those two are just so cute together." She whispered to herself. Then she bit her lip and frowned. " But I wonder whether she would accept his confession." She said to herself. " After all, she **is** a girl has rejected over dozens of boys, whose faces were more than ten times better than Shinichi's. The only person who she loved was. . ."

She stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed a rustle in the bushes.

She frowned.

" . . .Akai Shuichi." She whispered.

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Shinichi almost had to drag himself to the balcony, with Shiho lagging behind him, cocking her head as he leaned against the pillar behind him. " It's a beautiful night isn't it?" he said in a voice of false cheerfulness, staring up at the sky. But indeed it was beautiful. The moon was still not out, but the sky was studded with shining stars, like jewels in the sky.

" Yeah." She whispered. " It really is."

They stayed in silence for a moment before Shinichi coughed and she gazed into his eyes. " Shiho, I have something I have to tell you." He said.

" It better not be about the beautiful stars now." She said jokingly, but noticed that Shinichi didn't laugh. Nor did he even bother to crack a grin. His face was confident and sculpted, like a person ready to just face first into a lake full of sharks, only held on by a thin piece of string.

" Shiho. . ." he started.

" Yes?" she whispered.

" _I have something I want to tell you." Shiho had said, biting her lip._

_The little boy of her age grinned cheerfully at her. " What is it? It better not be about requesting about you wanting me to get you a bigger present, because I spent a lot to buy one for your birthday tomorrow."_

_The girl still didn't smile, her lips in a thin line._

" _Shin-chan. . ." she started, and he grinned._

" _Yeah, that's my name." he said._

_She bit her lip._

" _I. . .I really like you."_

_His eyes widened._

_Then he grinned._

" _I like you too." He said. " That's why I'm going to your party tomorrow, right?"_

_She chewed deeper into her lip._

_He didn't get it._

_The dense idiot._

_Never mind._

_She wasn't hoping for much anyway._

" _Come to my party tomorrow." She said flatly. " Or I'll be angry."_

" _I won't miss it for the world." He said, laughing._

_She looked at him, blushing._

" _Really?" she asked._

_He nodded._

" _Yeah." He said. " Because you're my best friend."_

_She finally smiled._

" _See you tomorrow." She had said._

" _Yeah." He said. " See you."_

_She had planned to tell him her feelings right the next day. But to kill it all, he didn't come. Not the next day, nor the other or the other. She would give anything to see him again. Anything to be with him. . ._

_To see him laugh. . ._

_To see him smile. . ._

_To hear him say those three words to her. . ._

" I love you." Shinichi said, and Shiho froze.

He smiled at her confidently.

" I love you more than anything else in the world."

Her eyes widened.

The world seemed to stop at that moment.

She just stood there, rooted to the spot, staring right back into Shinichi's eyes.

She understood what he had said. She understood what she was going to say, or what she had to say. But something inside her must have been confused, as she just wet her lips and looked down. Many would have been curious if she had understood what she had just said.

" I'm sorry." She whispered.

END CHAPTER 16

Finally he confesses! Chapter 17 will be the climax of this story, and the start of the balloting! Many questions to be answered! Will Shuichi meet Shiho? What is to happen to Shiho and Shinichi? Who did Akemi see in the bushes? What is of the principal? Who would end of with Shiho? Shuichi, Shinichi or Sanshriyuki? Find out in the last two or three chapters!


	17. The Final Meeting

I had to think about this chapter for quite a while. The setting, the timing, the characters, the props. . . .finally I'm coming to the end of the story. I don't know if I feel sadder more than I feel a sense of achievement. I guess it's a crossover between both. Just who was the person in the bushes? Could it, by any chance, be Akai Shuichi? Find out in this chapter!

CHAPTER 17

Shinichi stood erected to the spot.

What she said had gone through his senses, but still had not traveled fully to his head and mind. It was like being locked into a freezer. His entire body seemed to go numb, silence circling the area between the two of them. And he felt cold. Unknowingly cold. He just gaped at her, eyes wide with shock. People surrounding them seemed to get the hint that something had happened which did not go according to Shinichi's plan, and edged away at the undying tension that was passing between the two of them.

" You're. . .sorry?" he whispered.

She let out the breath that she was holding and crossed her arms across her chest, refusing to look up at him; to look into his eyes. " I viewed you as my best friend." She said, almost to herself. " You were my pillar of support, and were the only friend I could cling on to. When I first met you, you were someone that I thought I could count on more than anybody else. Kind, sweet, and gentle. I gave you the lessons so that you could win Mouri back. I **do** love you too. . .but as a friend."

Nothing that she said went through his head. Just a sense of resignation, a feeling of retirement, a hope for her to just accept him; or at least allow things between the two of them to be the same again. But who the Hell was he kidding?

He forced a smile and turned his heel to walk away.

" Shinichi." She said, and he stopped.

" Yes, sensei?" he whispered, and she flinched at the sensibility of his tone. There was no signs of the old Shinichi that he knew. He was not calling her by her first name like he always did. It was then when she really understood the true pain of her rejection. He was rejected twice. Twice in just a matter of days. She licked her dry lips.

" I just wanted to. . .thank you for the friendship you shared with me." She said.

He smiled.

" You're welcome." He said, before disappearing behind the door.

Shiho stood there for a long time, just gazing at Shinichi's back, until he was just another person in the crowd. She sighed and leaned against the pillar behind her. He glanced at it slightly before letting out a small smile. " Another pillar of support for me." She said, before slamming her fist against it. " Please don't shatter to pieces too."

Akemi watched from the tree she was in, and sighed, shutting off her video recorder. " I knew that something like this would happen." She said depressingly. " Even so, I just hoped that she would accept Kudo's confession. Oh well."

She noticed someone watching the two of them too.

She smiled softly. Slowly, she dropped down from the top of the tree, crossing her arms across her chest. " You were the one watching the two of them in the bushes, weren't you?" she whispered, and the person jumped at the sound of her voice. Yet he refused to look at her, his lips pursed, staring at the many people who were dancing on the dance floor.

" How did you know it was me, Akemi?" he asked softly.

" It was pretty obvious that it was **you** who was watching her all along." She said casually, stuffing her video camera into her bag. " You may seem heartless at some moments, but I know that you still care for her at the bottom of your heart."

The person said nothing.

" Don't try to act like you understand me." He said quietly.

" Oh, I think I know more about you than anybody else." She said gently, in a voice of self-praise and understanding. " I'm one of the persons who went looking for you when you left."

" And did you find me?" he said coldly.

" Indeed I did." She said. " It was obvious that it was you who invited her to work at this school, being the fact that you wanted to take care of her and look after her."

" You're wrong." He sneered. " I couldn't care less about her."

" You cared about our mother, in any case." She said.

She stayed silent.

" Got you right there, didn't I?" she whispered. " . . .Father."

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Shinichi locked himself into the toilet cubicle, before sitting down on the toilet seat with a dull plonk. So he was rejected by Shiho too. He was so sure that she had felt the same way about him. But then again, he was no expert on telling the emotions of females. He was no expert like Yoro. Hell, he even thought that Ran was in love with him, for a point of time.

He gave a harsh laugh before burying his face in his hands.

All the weeks that he and Shiho spent together was more enjoyable and fun that his many years he spent with Ran. She was so perfect with him, fitting into him like a glove. He had always been looking for his " missing piece" for many years, and almost thought that it had been found when he met Ran. Well, **that** certainly was a bad judgment.

" Shiho." He whispered.

Her name tasted sweet on his lips.

" Shiho." He said again.

Suddenly her name tasted hard and salty from his mouth. Tears had started to fall from his eyes and he rubbed them furiously. Boy, he almost thought that he could never feel worse than after the time he was rejected by Ran. That was nothing in comparison with what he was feeling now. He pressed his head against the back of the wall behind.

All was lost.

He was defeated by Sanshriyuki.

Wait a minute.

He sat up right, glaring at the ceiling. It wasn't possible that Shiho did not love him. Did those weeks mean nothing to her? He wrenched open the door of his cubicle, and turned on the tap, splashing his face. The water mingled with his tears, but he ignored it, wiping his face.

" I love you Shiho Miyano." He said clearly.

There was no answer.

He smiled to himself and threw the tissue paper into the bin next to him. He was going to win her over at the balloting. If he wouldn't win her over, there was some way that he could win her over. There was no way he was going to give up without a fight. He opened the door to the toilet forcefully, before coming face-to-face with Sonoko. Her arms were crossing against her chest, looking at him with somewhat of an appraising look.

" What?" he asked cautiously.

But she smiled.

" Good luck." She said.

Shinichi blinked before grinning.

" Thanks." He said, running off, still clueless to what she was wishing him luck for.

She sighed and watched him leave. " Please end up with Miyano-sensei." She whispered to herself, clutching her fingers together, in the way of a prayer. " Then maybe. . .then maybe. . .Sanshriyuki and I can. . ."

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" You're still as sharp as you were before, Akemi." Miyano said, smirking. " When did you notice that I was the principal all along?"

" In the yearbook." She said clearly. " I don't forget faces as easily as Shiho does. But scratch that, what's with the wheelchair?"

" Yeah." He said, wincing in pain. " I might have to be in this for many years to come. Looks like there's no good side in making Akai Shuichi angry."

" Akai?" she asked, eyebrows raised. " He's still alive?"

Shishio smirked and turned his wheelchair in the direction away from the dance. " I think I'm going to take off now." He said quietly. " I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

Akemi watched him roll away before sighing. " I won't tell about who you really are, father." She said silently. He stopped, before turning around, eyes wide with shock. " I don't know what the reason is for you leaving us, and frankly speaking, I don't really care. I just want you to leave us forever. Don't show yourself to Shiho once again. I don't want you to hurt her."

Shishio smiled sadly.

" Yeah." He said. " I guess you're right."

" I know I am." Akemi said curtly. " If you dare hurt her in any way. . ."

" I wouldn't dare to." He said. " She's my daughter after all."

Akemi glared at him before looking away.

" Goodbye father." She said.

He looked at her before chuckling lightly. " You've really grown up, Akemi." He whispered. " I always thought that you were the one who was taken care of by her younger sister. . .apparently me leaving you and her did you some help, don't you agree?"

" So it would seem." Akemi said, still refusing to look at him.

He nodded to himself, before taking another look at his daughter. " You're beautiful, Akemi." He said. " Be sure to tell that compliment to Shiho too."

" I would try." Akemi said coldly.

He gave a withering smile before turning his wheelchair around once again. " Goodbye, Akemi." He whispered.

She said nothing.

It was only after the sounds of the rolling of the wheels of Shishio's wheelchair died away when she turned to look, facing an empty sea of trees. A lone tear fell from her face and she wiped it away hastily.

" Goodbye." She said. " Father."

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" Is something wrong, Miyano-sensei?"

Shiho turned to face three school girls, who were looking at her worriedly. She gave them what she hoped was a comforting smile. " I'm fine." She whispered. " Everything's okay."

" You can't lie to us, sensei." One of them said, pointing her finger at Shiho. " We know female emotions better than anyone else, and we can tell that something just happened between you and Shinichi-kun. What happened? Can you please tell us?"

Shiho looked rather edgy, and tried to get away, but found out to her dismay that they had cornered her against the wall behind her. " I'm afraid I can't say anything about that." She said tightly, and the three girls groaned. " It's strictly something between him and me."

They gasped.

" That sounds like you're married, sensei." One said, giggling.

" Or engaged." Another said.

" Or that you two just had a healthy snog."

Then the three burst into giggles.

Shiho flushed to the colour of an overripe tomato. " That was totally uncalled for." She snapped. " What do you mean that we're like a couple?"

" Oh, you two are the most popular " what if" couple in the school." One of the girls said dreamily. " Second was Ran and Shinichi, which used to be the top last time. Third was of course, Mizakan-sensei and Akane-san. Third are Sanshriyuki and Ran, but then that's. . ."

" Enough." Shiho said firmly. " Me and Shi- - -Kudo are not dating."

" But that's a pity, isn't it?" the second one said, crossing her arms across her chest. " You two are just so sweet together. Both are cool, calm, smart, nice. . .not to mention good-looking."

" Plus, you two spend a lot of time together alone too." The first said.

" And what proof do you have?" Shiho said, suddenly nervous.

" Your sister told us about it after we gave her some pictures of the two of you together." The third said proudly. " See? We're onto you."

Shiho reminded herself to physically kill her sister when she got back home.

" No you're not onto me." She said. " Because you can't be onto someone if there's nothing happening with her. Or him, for that matter."

" Whatever you say, sensei." The girls said, giving up and started to retreat.

" But come to think of it. . .you only warmed up to us after you met Kudo." One of the girls said, and she froze. " You were nicer after you two became friends."

And they left her standing there alone.

She stood there, rooted to the spot.

" _You two look really cute together."_

" _You two spend a lot of time together."_

" _You were nicer after you and Shinichi became friends."_

She bit her lip.

Truly enough, it was Shinichi who had a huge impact on her life. She never though she would actually be friends with such a person. He was cheerful, popular, loud. . .all these three characteristics were nothing like Shuichi. Sure he was famous with the girls, but he would just brush them away like dirt on his collar. In Shinichi's case, he would thank every one of them, and think of a way to pay back their love. Yet the two of them were also alike in so many ways.

Their smile, their cool, the way they spoke to her in tender moments. . .

She let out a small laugh before pressing her hand against her forehead.

" _I love you."_

That was what Shinichi told her, speaking it though the likes of a fact.

" Kudo. . ." she whispered, his name echoing through the night.

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" Well, I have to admit, **that** was mighty depressing."

Yoro and Ran gave pitiful looks to both Shinichi and Shiho who were both standing at opposite ends of the party, showing no signs of happiness at all. Akemi nodded and shut the video recorder, chewing on her bottom lip edgily. " It's doubly saddening for me," she said, gently putting her camera back into her bag. " Because not only is the person breaking his heart my own little sister, but also because I'm so fond of Kudo Shinichi. And I've watched this twice." She added as an afterthought, the other two grinning at her sheepishly. Ran looked at Shiho.

" She looks so lonely." She whispered.

" That was what Shiho was like most of the time before she met Shinichi." Akemi said, almost casually as they skimmed through the dance floor to get themselves some punch. " At first Shuichi was the only source of warmth for her. But then. . ."

And her voice died out.

Yoro raised his eyebrows.

" And then what?" he asked.

" It's nothing really." Akemi said flatly. " In any case, you two better do something about those two. They're so gloomy, it's almost frightening."

" Not for Shiho's case, it's not." Ran muttered. " She was like that for the first quarter of the year. . ."

Then she stopped, looking at Akemi, who smiled.

" . . .Before she met Shinichi." Akemi finished, eyes twinkling. " You see what an impact he had on her? My guess is that she probably just doesn't know her love for Shinichi yet. After all, it would seem like she's cheating on the past Shuichi."

Ran nodded.

" Okay." She said. " I'll talk to Miyano-sensei, and. . ."

" No." Yoro said, and Ran stopped, startled, staring at him.

Ran raised her eyebrows.

" No?" she asked.

" No." he said, quite firmly. " I'll talk to Miyano."

The two girls watched as something surged through his eyes, something that Ran had never seen before. He turned and once again, it was gone. He smiled at them. " Talk to Shinichi, Ran." He said. " You two didn't get a decent chat lately anyway. Leave Miyano to me."

Ran nodded and walked off.

Yoro smiled and started to leave when he found out that Akemi was frowning at him. " Have I met you somewhere?" she asked.

Yoro shrugged.

" The world is small." He said.

She smirked and nodded, and he walked off.

" You're just full of secrets aren't you, Yoro-kun?" she whispered, almost to herself.

Almost as an answer, his head tilted downwards for a fraction of an inch, as though telling her his answer.

Yes.

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Shinichi drank out of his punch cup, letting out a sigh.

Sure he had not lost to Sanshriyuki yet. But there was something about chasing after someone who had just rejected him that he did not like. However, being the fact that he was chasing Ran after she rejected him hundreds of times, he really shouldn't have thought of that.

" Hi." Came a voice, and he turned.

Ran smiled up at him.

He forced a grin.

" Hey." He said. " Enjoying the party?"

" Not really." She said, smiling sheepishly, and he smiled back.

Then she bit her lip.

" Shinichi. . .I'm sorry about you and Shiho."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows.

" You know about that too?" he asked.

" Yeah." She said. " Miyano-sensei's sister told us all about it."

He sighed.

" Right." He said.

Then there was silence.

" So you're really in love with her, aren't you?" Ran asked, cocking her head. Shinichi looked at her questioningly, wondering if there was a second part of the question. When she said nothing more, he sighed and leaned against the wall behind him.

" Yeah." He said. " I am."

Ran blushed slightly and smiled.

" At first I didn't want you two to get together." Ran confessed, and Shinichi looked at her. " I wanted her to just dump you, and hopefully you would get back together with me. But that was just a hopeless fantasy. You and her looked so perfect together, that it seems ridiculous now that I wanted her to break your heart."

He said nothing.

" I thought that I could never possibly fall for you again." Ran said, ignoring the fact of people gazing at the two of them, sly grins on their faces. " I though you were just a thing in the past, a person from a small chunk of my life. It was only when I fell for you again then I realized how many good points you had. And they were all shown to me because of Miyano-sensei."

At that moment several girls walked past, and Ran stopped in mid-speech.

" The pain must be terrible, am I not wrong?" she whispered.

Only at this, Shinichi looked at her.

" I hoped for death when you dumped me." She whispered. " I just wanted to curl up in a ball and die when you said that you would never love me again. Being the fact, what you must be feeling must be. . ."

He stood upright.

" I didn't ask for you to read into my heart, Ran." He said curtly.

" And I'm not trying to." She said stubbornly. " Don't you think that what happened with me and you is a reflection of you and Miyano-sensei?"

Shinichi stared at her.

" I know she loves you too." Ran said. " Just like I did to you."

" Ran. . ." Shinichi started.

Ran smiled at him.

" Come on." She said cheerfully. " The balloting will start soon."

She started to walk away, when she felt his hand tug against the hem of her skirt. She raised her eyebrows and turned. He was smiling, rather forcefully at her.

" Thank you, Ran." He said.

She smiled back.

" You're welcome." She said.

She walked away, and he stood there.

He shut his eyes and smiled to himself.

" That's right." He said softly. " I love her."

It was dark outside, but suddenly the sky seemed to bright and sunny all of a sudden.

Finally, he had found his missing piece.

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Suddenly Shinichi felt a tap on his shoulder and a young girl gave him a letter. Shinichi, thinking that it was love confession, was ready to apologize to her and tell her that his heart had somebody else when he noticed what was on it. ' A.S.' was what was written on it. He smirked slightly and took it from her, opening it up. But strangely there was nothing inside, and he gazed up at her curiously.

" He. . .asked you to meet him in the basketball court." She said, fingering her hair nervously.

He smiled at her and nodded.

" Thank you." He said.

He ran out to the basketball court, and opened the door before shutting it behind himself. " Shuichi!" he yelled out, but received no answer. He raised his eyebrows and took another step inside, when a blinding light flashed from all four sides of the area. There stood Shuichi and Shishio in the middle, smirks on their faces. Shinichi blinked and took another step forward.

" Shuichi?" he asked cautiously. " What is this?"

" This is what I wanted to clarify before I finally acknowledge the fact of you and Shiho together." Shuichi said flatly, removing the coat that covered his body. There were scars all over his chest, but God knows how many there were underneath his singlet. " Shishio and I came to an agreement to let you two come together, on one condition."

" And. . .what's that?" Shinichi asked nervously.

" If you can land one punch on Shuichi." Shishio said, smirking.

Shinichi gaped at the two of them.

" Er. . .you two. . .this isn't funny. . ." he started.

" It wasn't supposed to be." Shuichi said, cracking his knuckles. " Do I seem like the kind of person who would kid about this sort of thing?"

" I guess not. . ." Shinichi said slowly. " But why now?"

" Because I may not be able to see you for a long time." Shuichi said sadly.

" Me neither." Shishio said, grinning sheepishly.

" Why?" Shinichi asked, body going numb. " Where are you two going?"

" I'm wanted by the police for breaking Shishio's back." Shuichi said.

" And I'm wanted for using an overly large amount of men to raid Akai Shuichi's house. The two of us are going to run from the law together, despite our hatred for each other."

Shinichi gulped.

" So, come on." Shuichi said, taking a step towards Shinichi. " Or you'll be late for the balloting."

" I couldn't care less about me being bought for a date." Shinichi snorted. " I would rather. . ."

" It's about Shiho, actually." Shishio said, eyes twinkling.

Shinichi stopped.

Silence.

" So shall we begin?" Shuichi snorted, taking another step towards Shinichi.

Shinichi removed the tie from his neck in one sling, and it fell to the floor.

" Yeah." He said quietly. " I guess we should."

Shishio raised his hand in the air.

" If you get hit by Shuichi ten times or fall to the ground before you get to land a punch on him, you lose." Shishio said silkily. " And I think we all know what would happen if that happens, don't we?"

Shinichi glared at him.

Shuichi grimaced before exchanging a glance with Shinichi.

" I wouldn't hold back, Shinichi." He said quietly.

" Is that so?" Shinichi whispered, getting into his stance. " Me neither."

They just stood there, glaring at each other for a moment.

" Ready. . ." Shishio hissed, rolling his wheelchair to a side.

Silence.

" . . .Go!" he yelled.

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Yoro looked at his watch.

Ten minutes passed.

That should be enough time for Shiho to be alone.

He took a step up towards her when he noticed that rain was starting to fall from the sky. He smirked to himself and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Inside the middle of the arena, a young man stood up on the stage.

He cleared his throat, smiling.

" The balloting of the six most popular people in the entire school will begin in fifteen minutes!" he called out, followed by an explosion of cheers.

Yoro smiled to himself.

" Looks like there's going to be a storm coming." He whispered to himself. " And I'm not just talking about the weather."

And at the sound of that, there was a clap of thunder.

END CHAPTER 17

How was THAT for a climax? Yes, the story has been finalized to end at chapter 20. I just love stories that end with a beautiful figure or number. Please look forward to the last three, which I hope will be this story's best ones yet. You might think that Shishio and Shuichi were a tad too light on Shinichi, for just letting him hit Shuichi once. Don't forget the fact that Shuichi is from the FBI, and that makes him an expert. Good luck to Shinichi, whose skills are nowhere near Heiji. Hey, come to think of that, I didn't let Heiji come into this story at all. Hmm. . .it's too late to think of that now, isn't it?

**Please look forward to chapter 18! Will Shinichi be able to make it back to Shiho's balloting in time? Find out in the last few chapters!**


	18. Shuichi VS Shinichi

The final battle of Shuichi and Shinichi is about to begin. I don't know why, but I'm getting really fond of Yoro. I'm really going to miss him. Anyway, please read and review. Chapter 18 everybody! Enjoy the ride!

CHAPTER 18

Shinichi pounced at Shuichi, almost uncharacteristically determined. He knew that Shuichi was not a person who liked to joke around, and whatever he said meant something. That was one thing that he understood. Another thing he knew was that there was only one way he was going to get out of the door away from Shishio and Shuichi, and that was to land a punch on Akai without getting unconscious first.

He swung his hand forcefully at Shuichi, but he just dodged it effortlessly and slammed his fist in Shinichi's stomach. Shinichi coughed and spluttered, slamming on all-fours on the ground. Akai just stood above him, wiping his cheek dryly. " Was that the best you could do, Kudo?" he whispered. " Do you want me to make you fall into unconsciousness like what I did to you on the rooftop when we first met?"

Flared with unknown anger, ignoring the fact that he probably had three ribs already broken, he slammed his fist at Shuichi's face, in which he dodged it, staggering backwards. Shuichi looked at his smarting arm before looking back at Shinichi.

Shinichi got ready in his stance.

" Let's roll." he whispered.

Akai glared at him before nodding.

" Yeah." he said. " Let's."

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" It's a beautiful night, is it not?"

Shiho noticed Yoro standing beside her at that moment. Pondering whether she should answer him or now, she decided to ignore him, and continued to look at the stars in silence. He smiled to himself and took another step towards her, ignoring her flinch. Heaving a sigh, he looked up at the stars, mimicking her movements for a moment until he heard her sigh.

" Kudo Shinichi confessed to me." she said.

He didn't look at her, but a small smile played on his lips.

" Yeah." he said knowingly. " I know."

She didn't expect herself to tell him anything, let alone speak or acknowledge his presence. But there was something so peaceful and distinctly familiar about this person that made her just confess it to him. She bit her lip and sighed once more. " I never thought that he was in love with me. . .all this while." she said.

He blinked.

" Really?" he asked, unable to stop his voice from having a hint of amusement. " I thought you were Shiho Miyano, the woman with an IQ of 200."

" Oh, shut up." she snapped. " I'm not at all good with human emotions, alright?"

" What do you mean by that?" he asked.

" Well. . ." she said hesitatingly. " I never had any friends. I was always a loner. Girls hated me because I never shared my homework with them or shopped for clothes and talked about boys like many others. Boys hated me because they thought I was too stuck up for my own good. . ." she stopped and flushed red, as though the words had spilled out of her mouth on their own will, and looked at Yoro embarrassingly.

But her embarrassment faded as she saw him smiling warmly at her. " It's nothing to feel ashamed about." he said softly. " I was an outcast too."

" You?" she asked, eyes wide. " Really?"

" Yeah. . ." he said, pausing for a moment, his head looking up at the skies once more, as thought reminiscing. But at the sound of a girl laughing with her friend behind them, his eyes snapped open and looked back at Shiho, grinning almost sheepishly. " Sorry about that." he said. " Forgive me for asking. . .but did you. . ."

" Reject him." she finished, sounding gloomy. " Yes I did."

" Ah."

They stayed in silence for a moment.

" So do you love him?" he asked. " Sensei?" he added hurriedly, when she raised her eyebrows at him, causing her to chuckle lightly.

" I don't know." she said softly.

" Yet." he finished for her, and she blinked.

" Excuse me?" she asked curiously.

" You don't know yet." he said firmly. " But I believe that you will know."

She cocked a brow.

" You seem mighty confident of that." she said.

" Of course I am." he said, smiling soothingly. " And I believe the time will come when you will finally be able to say that you love Shinichi openly for the world to hear."

" You can't be sure of that." she said serenely.

He nodded silently to himself, and there was another hole in their conversation until a loud, booming voice filled the dance floor. " LET US BEGIN THE BALLOTING!" yelled the person, followed by hearty cheers.

He smiled at Shiho.

" Shall we leave?" he asked.

She looked at him for a moment.

Then she smiled.

" Yeah." she said. " Lets."

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Shinichi took a quick side-step to attack at Shuichi's blind spot at the top of his forehead, but Akai just jumped back, lightly dodging Shinichi's kick in mid-air, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking restless. " I honestly thought you would put up a much better fight than this, Kudo." Shuichi said, sounding bored. " Is your love for Shiho really so limitless?"

Shinichi glared at Shuichi before lunging at him once more, aiming a shot at Shuichi's stomach blindly. " Not good enough, amateur!" Shuichi bellowed, ducking before ramming his leg into Shinichi's ribs. Coughing and gasping, Shinichi fell to the ground, wheezing. Shishio winced and nodded to himself. " Never a good idea to spar with Shuichi, whether he's in a bad mood or not."

Then Shishio rubbed his chin.

But somehow, he had a feeling that Shuichi was still holding back.

" Come on, Kudo." Shuichi said softly.

Shinichi got to his feet, spitting out the blood from his mouth.

" It's not over yet." he hissed.

" I know that." Shuichi said quietly.

Shinichi removed the watch from his hand, rather deftly, and let it fall to the ground with a dull clink. " I never thought you were one that would fight me half-heartedly, Akai." Shinichi said, smiling slightly.

Shuichi's eyes danced with an unknown flame.

" So you knew." he whispered softly.

" Yes." Shinichi said confidently. " But neither have I."

Shuichi's mouth had drooped downwards, in a distinct sulk.

" You expect me to believe that?" he whispered.

" Only one way to prove it. . ." Shinichi said, getting to his feet, slamming his fist into Akai's head. Blocking it only merely, Shuichi cursed painfully as Shinichi rammed his leg into his stomach, but thankfully blocked it with his other hand in time. Shinichi smirked triumphantly and aimed another blow at Shuichi, but Akai whipped out of his range, and kicked him well across the face.

Gasping, Shinichi fell to the floor in a dull heap.

Shuichi, finally breathing hard, wiped his lip.

" So you were playing me along all this time?" he whispered.

" Darn right I was." Shinichi said.

Shuichi's face lit up with a ghostly smile. " Well, in that case. . ." he whispered, removing his shoes and socks quietly. Inside bore lead weights, and Shinichi's eyes widened at the sight. Shuichi removed them from his feel and stepped up towards Shinichi. " I'm not going to pull anymore punches."

" I'd like to see you try." Shinichi snarled.

But suddenly, a jab in the jaw came so fast that Shinichi barely had any time to feel pain when he fell to the floor, body numb. Shuichi cracked his knuckles. " You tried to hit me a couple of times previously, didn't you?" he whispered, walking closer to Shinichi. " None of them hit me, right?"

Shinichi didn't have time to reply when he felt a bursting pain in his head and he scrambled back to prevent Shuichi from giving him any more damage.

" Come on then." Shuichi whispered, eyes livid. " Like you said before. . .let's roll."

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" Starting with the Men's, obviously. . ." the person said cheerfully, almost forced to yell out his words into the microphone because the cheering was so loud. " Will the three guys all get up to the stage please?" he continued, when the yelling and screaming had finally died down.

Yoro winked at Shiho. " Well, that would be me." he said, getting to his feet, leaving her side.

She smirked at him.

" Don't get stage fright." she said sarcastically.

He grinned.

" I'll try." he said, icing his voice with equal sarcasm.

" Good luck." Sonoko whispered to Sanshriyuki, who merely nodded at her, and got up to the stage, looking rigid and noticeably sulky. But strangely, Kudo Shinichi was nowhere in sight. People were looking around, calling him to come foward, but he never came. Shiho bit her lip and felt a sense of guilt. Had he went home already? Was it all her fault?

" Shinichi won't leave like that." came a placid voice behind her, and she whipped around, and saw Ran standing behind her, arms folded across her chest. She patted Shiho on the shoulder soothingly, ignoring the look of confusion that was etched across Shiho's face. " He was chasing after me for years. . .I know what he's like. He won't let Sanshriyuki have you without a fight."

" I was never going to choose that woodlouse anyway." Shiho muttered, blushing.

" Who, Shinichi?"

" Sanshriyuki, smartass!"

" So you'd choose Shinichi?" Ran said coyly.

Shiho opened her mouth then shut, face flushing.

" That was uncalled for." she snapped.

" Got you, didn't I?" Ran said, grinning.

" One hundred!" yelled a girl beside them, which seemed to jolt them back to earth. Apparently, Sanshriyuki had gone first, and there were tons of females from all sides that were yelling out numbers to just get the chance to be with him for one simple night, which would probably lead them home in tears because of being exposed to too much ignoring by him.

Of course, they did not know THAT yet.

" Two hundred!" screamed another.

" Three!"

" Three fifty!"

Shiho pouted and crossed her arms across her chest. " This is no difference from auctioning off a painting." she said, disgusted.

" Well," Ran said brightly. " I'm sure if it's you, the boys won't mind a. . ."

" . . .Nude painting." she said wearily. " Heard that one before."

Ran smiled rather sheepishly.

It was then when the two of them noticed Sonoko standing in a corner, looking sulky, and glared at every girl that yelled out a digit to Sanshriyuki's name.

The two glanced at each other, and shared a smile.

" YEESSSS!" a girl screamed, and Ran and Shiho could only guess that she had won Sanshriyuki over. Everyone looked at her with glares and raised eyebrows as she did three cartwheels until she was by Sanshriyuki's side, in which she wrapped herself around his arm, smiling at him playfully.

Shiho couldn't make out who was more disgusted, Sanshriyuki himself, the crowd or Sonoko.

The announcer had his eyebrows raised but just cleared his throat uncomfortably. " Alright," he said. " The next one will be Yoro, then. . .I guess. . ."

Ran fidgeted with her collar nervously.

Yoro smiled to himself and grabbed the microphone. " Sorry ladies." he said, sounding rather nonchalant about the whole idea. " There is only one person in this entire world that I would date with, and that is the girl that I love, and her name is Ran Mouri."

Ran's eyes widened, a blush forming on her cheeks.

He looked at Ran, a smile on his face.

The entire area was very quiet until there was a distant clapping from somewhere in the middle of the room. Suddenly the whole room was bursting was applause as Yoro put down the microphone and started to make his way to Ran. Shiho stepped aside, winking at Yoro, who grinned at her. Yoro stood up before Ran, amid cheers and wolf whistles.

" I love you, Ran." he said.

A lone tear fell from her face.

" I love you too, Yoro."

The yells were deafening.

Shiho nodded approvingly at Yoro as the two of them shared a kiss.

" That was really romantic." she said fondly.

" Practiced my speech last night." Yoro said, smirking, as the crowd laughed.

Ran wiped the tear from her eye.

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" Ahhrrgg!"

Shinichi fell to the ground, falling face first on the basketball court. He tasted blood as he felt Shuichi ram his leg painfully at the side of his head and struggled to get to his feet. Shuichi, eyes cold and merciless, seemed to be a totally different person from who Shinichi saw and knew.

Shishio sighed and looked away.

So this was Shuichi when he pulled no punches.

Still, it was better than when he was angry.

Shishio had a broken back and major injuries to prove it.

He could still remember when he first saw Shuichi burst into rage.

That was years ago. . .

FLASHBACK

Shishio raised his eyebrows as he heard a knock on the door.

" Come in." he said simply.

There stood Shuichi, looking shrewd as he stayed at the doorway, not daring to step inside nearer to Shishio. There was always a sort of tension that passed through the two of them, and could never say a word to each other without forgetting their tact, and ignoring the fact that they had to be polite to each other. In fact, the only time that they were nice to each other was when Shiho was there. But that was a totally different subject, fo course. " You called to see me?" Shuichi said.

" Yes." Shishio said, pointing to the seat before him.

Shuichi sat down, before glancing at the six guards that were surrounding Shishio from him. He seemed to look at each and every one of them individually before his eyes settled back down on Shishio. " Is there something you wanted to tell me?" his voice in strained politeness.

" Yes, indeed there was." Shishio said.

There was silence that followed that.

" Would you care to tell me what it is?" Shuichi asked, lips pursed.

There was another silent moment that followed.

" How long have you known my daughter, Akai?" Shishio asked slowly.

Shuichi raised his eyebrows.

" Not long enough." he replied simply.

" Would you care to properly answering a question just for once?" Shishio asked quietly.

" Would you get to the point for once?" Shuichi asked shrewdly.

Immediately, a guard grabbed out his gun and pointed it at Shuichi's head, his face etched with hatred and anger for the boy that sat before him. Shuichi turned his head just slightly, and he glared at the guard, who took a step back, expecting the boy to attack. Instead Shuichi just looked back at Shishio, yet his hands were clenched into fists.

" Alright then." Shishio said. " I would just make this short then."

" I would very much like that, thank you." Shuichi said.

" I would not like you to see my daughter anymore." Shishio said.

There was a moment where Shuichi just stared at Shishio with unflattering confusion, until that was won over by his usual cold glare, his eyes dancing with an unknown flame. " I do not find that possible." Shuichi said, voice in a forced firm, as he made movement to leave, but before he knew it, six guns were pointed in his direction from all around the room.

His looked at all six sides before his eyes once again rested on Shishio's.

" What is the meaning of this, Miyano?" he asked coldly.

" I already told you." Shishio said, equally disdainful.

Shuichi just glared at him.

" Get out of my office." Miyano said. " That is all I have to say to you. Get out of my office, get out of my life, and get out of my daughter's. That would do everyone help."

" I fail to see how that is possible." Shuichi said, jaw clenched.

" Then we would be forced to remove you." Shishio said, standing up, his hand reaching into his coat.

" I'd like to see you try." Shuichi said.

There was a staring contest that followed. Which was stopped abruptly by Shishio letting out a low growl, grabbing the gun from his coat and aimed it at Shuichi, firing six bullets. He dodged them almost effortlessly, and kicked the table in Shishio's direction. Cursing, Miyano yelled at his guards to attack at Shuichi. But before any of them knew it, separate blows had been attacked at their bodies, and they fell to the ground, hacking and gasping.

In a quick fluid moment, Shuichi had grabbed Shishio and pinned his face first to the table, the gun pointed at the dead center of his head. " You know what?" Akai whispered, voice struggling to remain calm. " I could just kill you now. End my misery. But I know that that would make Shiho upset and angry. And I know that the both of us don't want that."

" I fail to see when I allowed you to call my daughter by her first name." Shishio muttered through gritted teeth.

Shuichi jammed the gun deeper into Shishio's skull, and he let out a painful hiss.

" I'm her fiancee." he hissed.

" And I'm her father." Shishio spat.

The six men had got up once more, and all of them had their guns pointed at Shuichi's direction. " It seems like all both of us are going to die in here, aren't we?" Shuichi said, a voice of mock fear in his voice. " Which one is going to Heaven first?"

" Don't be cute." Shishio said idly. " The only place you'll be going to is Hell."

Finger on the trigger, Shuichi would have pulled the trigger if it was not for the sudden sound of the knocking on the door. " Father?" came Shiho's voice, full of concern. " Are you inside there?"

Shuichi stepped away from Shishio at that, and dropped the gun in his hands.

Shishio got to his feet, looking up at Shuichi in wonder.

Shiho knocked once again.

" Father?" she asked, sounding more concerned now.

Without a word, Shuichi jumped out of the window, and disappeared.

" Yes." Shishio said. " Come in."

Shiho opened the door and looked around.

" That's funny." she said, frowning. " I thought I heard Akai's voice. Is he here?"

Shishio stood at the spot for a moment, the guards now lowering their guns. He looked at the spot where Shuichi previously stood. ' _You could have killed me Akai.' _He thought in wonderment. _' Why didn't you seize the chance?_'

" No." he said quietly. " No he wasn't."

END FLASHBACK

Shishio shut his eyes. " If I didn't butt in the way of their romance. . ." he whispered to himself. " Would they have ended up together?"

Even he knew that that was a redundant question.

Yes.

Yes they would have.

" What do you know, Shiho." he muttered, rubbing his chin.

" The two best people most suited for you. . ." he whispered.

Akai and Shinichi charged at each other with gritted teeth.

" . . .Is right here."

END CHAPTER 18

How was that? I have to admit, these two last chapters are going to be really hard to write. Nonetheless, I will strive to make these two fantastic. So please cheer me on by reading and reviewing! Trying to update weekly, y'all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	19. Who Are You?

The next chapter will be the last everyone. Excited? Sad? Happy? Whatever you may be feeling, please continue to read and review my stories, and story. This one will be ending, but that may be the start of new ones. (Hopes) Alright, chapter 19 is up and at 'em. I had to speed through this chapter due to exams and everything. Hope you all understand. By the way, I noticed a mistake of mine that I want to kill myself for not seeing it earlier. Before I had said that Miyano ditched his family when Shiho was born, but in the flashback with Shuichi and him, Shiho went into his office and asked whether Shuichi was there. Damn! It's too big a mistake to change. . .I hope you all can understand. Looks like I have a long way to go from being the writer I so desperately want to be. :p

CHAPTER 19

The announcer looked at his watch, chewing on his bottom lip. Kudo Shinichi still had not arrived. Almost everyone in the room knew the fact that if he did not come within the elapsed time he was to be bid for, he would be allowed to be bidded for the entire night or any other time at all. He raised his eyebrows at the crowd, almost hoping for a sign of the teenager.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed as he noticed some girls shuffle their shoes on the ground depressingly, some of them even taking out tissue papers to dab their now watering eyes. He nodded to himself, coming to the decision. " Since the fact that Kudo Shinichi has not arrived to the scene yet, I am sad to say that he will not be allowed to be bid for. Sorry for the disappointment everybody."

That line, in itself, was an understatement.

His eyes caught Shiho's, and he shrugged almost apologetically.

She raised her eyebrows but did not say anything.

Yet, somehow, something inside her was glad that Shinichi was not going to be seen in public hand in hand with some lovesick girl to the movies, the both of them sharing a stick of candyfloss.

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Akai Shuichi was an undoubtably strong fighter.

Shinichi had never even dreamed of crossing fists with somebody who could stare down the devil himself with those cold eyes of his. Shinichi struggled up to his feet, panting, exhausted. Shuichi crossed his arms across his chest, nodding his head slowly, almost in self-recognition. " I haven't hit someone so many times before." he muttered to himself, rubbing his chin. " It's either that you are stronger that what I thought you would be, or making the impossible possible, I'm getting weaker."

Shinichi spat out blood, smirking at him.

" I'll choose the first option." he choked out.

" I think it's wiser to hope for the second." Shuichi said coldly.

Shinichi fell down to his feet once again as he felt a hard blow hit against the side of his head. Only pride was keeping himself from crying as he pushed himself against a nearby wall, and got to his feet. He looked at Shuichi, whose eyes were colder that he ever saw before. He let out a smile at Shuichi, earning himself a shocked expression. " I'm running out time, Shuichi." he said in a whisper, rubbing his aching sides. " This one will be the final blow."

Shuichi watched him with raised eyebrows.

" You can't make it." he said.

" Just watch me." Shinichi said.

How long the two of them stood there staring at each other, they did not know. But as Shishio finally lifted the cigarette to his lips and blew out in a whiff of smoke, the two of them burst at each other, fists raised, a blow coming across one of their faces, one falling to the ground, the other getting back to his feet, a triumphant smirk on his face.

Shishio smirked.

" Smokin'." he whispered.

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" We'll have a twenty minute break before going for the females!" the announcer called. Shiho opened a shut eye before shutting it once more, her arms crossed across her chest, her lips pressed against each other tightly. Then she opened them again. " It's been like that for the last ten minutes," she muttered to herself depressingly. " Every time I shut my eyes, I see Shinichi standing before me. Can he just get out of my bloody head for one second?"

" Sensei."

She turned and noticed Sanshriyuki standing beside her with a rather sour look. She strained a smile. " 'Evening, Sanshriyuki." she said in a falsely cheerful voice. He ignored that and promptly stood beside her. The two of them stood there for some time before Sanshriyuki spoke up. " Do you want a drink?" he asked, offering her the drink that was in his hands. She shook her head tiredly.

" No thank you."

They continued to stand there. Surprisingly, Shiho was not annoyed by his presence. There was something about Sanshriyuki that reminded her of someone that she knew. His frown, his scowl, his sullenness but there was love inside him that shone out from him like a torch in a dimly lit room. Just who did he remind her of anyway? Could it be possible that he reminded her of. . .**him**?

" Miyano-sensei." he said out quietly, and she snapped out of her trance, looking at him once again, acknowledging his presence. " Are you and Kudo-kun an item?"

Usually she would have been irritated with the form of question, but somehow, with Sanshriyuki, she felt no such irritation at all. " No we're not." she said flatly. Sure, that sounded nonchalant on the surface. But was that really what she felt inside? Her heart burnt with something so painful that it felt like she was on flame inside, but she ignored it. " At least I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

He looked extremely relieved.

" In that case. . ." he said, sounded confident. " Is it alright if I ballot for you?"

Her cheeks burned at that.

" W. . .why would you want to do that?" she asked.

" Because I'm in love with you." he said, looking deep into her eyes.

She blushed and looked away.

They remained in silence for times to pass until he spoke up once again.

" So can I?" he asked again.

Shiho bit her lip.

FLASHBACK

_" I was wondering. . ." Akemi said. " If two people walked up to you and asked you for the dance. . ."_

_" I'm not going." she said abruptly._

_" Oh yes you are." Akemi said, and Shiho silenced. " If two people walked up to you at the same time and asked you to the dance," she repeated, ignoring Shiho rolling her eyes. " One of them being Shinichi and the other being some really really really really REALLY. . ."_

_" I';m begging you to stop." Shiho said._

_" Okay. . .Really good-looking guy. . .who would you pick?"_

_Shiho bit her lip. " That's a stupid question, nee-san."_

_" Just answer it." Akemi said, winking at her. " Shinichi, wouldn't it?"_

_" Not exactly." Shiho said, crossing her arms across her chest. " It depends on who asks me first. If there's the case where I would be going to the dance with someone or at all, I'm going with the one who asks first."_

_Akemi chuckled. " That's so much like you." she said. _

END FLASHBACK

That was like her, wasn't it?

To choose the first guy who asked?

" Okay." she said.

When she received no answer, she turned around, only to see that he had left.

She nodded to herself and shut her eyes again. But this time, it was not Shinichi who she saw. It was Sanshriyuki, Shuichi, and him. Standing together, smiling at her. And this time, she didn't open her eyes. She left them shut, a dizzy smile slowly lifting up her lip.

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" Excuse me, kind sir. . ." came a voice behind the announcer and he jumped a mile, turning around abruptly, only to come face-to-face with Yoro, grinning at him with a kind smile on his face. The announcer raised his eyebrows. " You don't have to call me so formally, Yoro." he said, sounding rather embarrassed by Yoro's common courtesy. " You do know that you can just call me Yamakasi right?"

" Sorry, old habit." Yoro said, chuckling.

" So what do you want from me now?" Yamakasi asked, lighting himself a cigarette. " It's impossible that you merely wanted to stand next to me and simply start a conversation."

" Is that your view of me?" Yoro chuckled. " I really am unpopular, aren't I?"

" I wouldn't say that." Yamakasi said softly, as two girls make motion to walk up to Yoro, but ran off, giggling furiously. He caught sight of Ran in the corner, laughing with Sonoko at a nearby table. He sighed and nodded to himself heavily. " So I guess this is it, isn't it?" he asked Yoro softly, pushing the cigarette to his lips, a smile on his face. Yoro, somehow, without even looking at him, knew exactly what he was saying.

" Yeah." he said. " It's amazing isn't it?"

" I never thought a person like you would actually get settled down with a girl like Ran." Yamakasi muttered, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth long enough to get a swig of punch.

Yoro smiled rather oddly at him.

" Yeah," he said. " You would think."

Yamakasi smirked at him. " So you really love her?"

There was a long silence that followed, Yoro just sitting there watching Ran, Yamakasi slowly finishing his cigarette. It was when a gust of wind burst into the room and snuffed the light of his cigarette when Yoro looked up, grinning up at him. " Yeah, I do." he said.

And that was enough for that.

Yoro got to his feet, brushing himself off. " I think it's about time that you announced the balloting characters, don't you think?" he said, taking one last swig of his drink before turning back to grin at Yamakasi. Yamakasi looked at his watch before nodding at him.

" Yeah, I guess you're right." he said.

Yoro made motion to move to leave when he stopped and turned around to face the announcer once again. " By the way. . ." he said, sounding apparent. " You might want to leave Miyano-sensei's balloting for last. . .I have a feeling that we can get to see some form of a show if we're lucky."

The announcer smiled at him.

" Whatever you wish, Yoro." he said.

" Owe you one." Yoro said, before walking off.

" No problem." Yamakasi said.

It was until he waited for Yoro to walk out before winking at him, grabbing the microphone in his hands. " And now. . .THE LADIES BALLOTING SHALL BEGIN!"

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Yoro took his time; knowing Yamakasi, he knew that he had around ten to fifteen minutes to take his time to find Shinichi, and to get him to arrive in time to Shiho's balloting. Thing is, he already knew where Shinichi was; being the fact that he asked the girl who told Shinichi where to go.

" I didn't think I would be able to meet you and Shishio once again, Akai." he muttered to himself softly, reaching the basketball courts, sliding the door open, leaning against it.

There sat Shuichi on the ground, coughing, Shishio in a wheelchair next to him. Both of them looked up at the sight of him, faces of shock dawning the both of them. " Yakosuke?" Shishio asked, his eyes wide.

" It's Yorokobi now." Yoro said, smiling sheepishly.

" Damn, how many times do you change your damn name?" Shuichi scowled, wiping his mouth.

" This will be the last, trust me." Yoro said lightly. " Where is Kudo?"

" We just got into a fight, that's all." Shuichi said, getting to his feet, brushing himself off.

" I figured." Yoro said, chuckling. " How bad did you injure him?"

" Not as bad as I could have." Shuichi said, brushing his knuckles against the hard floor. " The only thing of his that I broke was his ribs. When I hit his face, I was careful not to break anything."

" That's good to know." Yoro said, before turning to Shishio. " And how are you, sir?"

" Very well, thank you." Shishio muttered.

" So are the both of you leaving tonight?" Yoro asked. " I have to admit, it DOES seems like of rushed. After all, the two of you aren't even being searched for yet."

" We will in due time." Shishio said. " I want to leave the country before that."

" Where to? Afghanistan?" Yoro asked coyly.

" Don't try to be cute." Akai muttered under his breath, pulling on a new shirt. " We're going to be running across the globe; I doubt we can continue to stay in contact anymore."

" I see." Yoro said flatly, falling to his feet. " Where is Kudo now?"

" He left, Yakosuke."

Yoro's eyes widened.

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" And Sakura is won for four hundred and thirty dollars!" the announcer roared, amid hearty cheers. " Heaven knows how much parents are giving their children these days. . ."

Sakura smiled bashfully at her date grinned at her, looking almost unbelievably stunned that he actually won her over. The announcer had seemingly deliberately paused for a moment to talk to Ran, who was giving small twitches of smiles from time to time throughout their small conversation; in which it ended with him announcing that she was not willing to be bought over. And nobody in the room said anything to that. Yamakasi looked at his watch rather nervously before sighing, putting on a cheerful smile soon afterwards.

Shiho frowned.

Something was going on, she was sure.

" And finally, last but not least. . ." Yamakasi said. " Miyano-seisei!"

Rather reluctantly, Shiho walked up to the stage, amid cheers and wolf-whistles.

She was forcing herself to concentrate on what she was going to do the next day; but just simply gave up at the sight of Akemi hopping up and down on the balls of her feet, her video camera in her hand. " I'm going to wake up, that's the top priority. . ." she said to herself firmly, desperately trying to make herself up the stage without even taking a second glance at the crowd below. " Then I'll have a quick breakfast. . .then maybe I'd. . ."

" THE HOTTEST TEACHER IN OUR SCHOOL!" came a yell from the crowd.

" . . .And then I'll commit suicide by swallowing my goldfish." she said restlessly.

She finally reached the stage, and it was just then when she noticed how high it seemed up here. It was a hauntingly beautiful sight; what with the dark floor, the crystalized walls and the shiny ceiling. She took in a deep breath and let it out. She caught a second glance at Yamakasi, who winked at her before turning on the microphone once again. " Alright then," he said out loud, and as he said that, Shiho noticed Sanshriyuki looking at her with a confident smile, and she looked back at him bewildered.

What **did** Sanshriyuki remind her of?

" Let us begin."

Shouts came up from all sides of the room, and Shiho raised her eyebrows as Akemi looked more and more like a young schoolgirl on high, zooming in her video camera lens on every single person that opted on her. She shut her eyes and bit her lip. Where was Kudo? Surely she couldn't have hurt his heart that bad. For one, the two of them only knew each other for a few months; he couldn't have loved her that much.

She opened her eyes and glanced at Sanshriyuki, who was shouting along with the others.

She shut them again.

But maybe it was possible.

" Three hundred and twelve!"

" Three hundred and thirty!"

Ran smiled sideways at Sonoko.

" I wonder how much Sanshriyuki get for pocket money?" she muttered.

" Yeah. . ." Sonoko said, rather sadly. " Makes you wonder."

Ran opened her mouth to say something, but shut it just as quickly.

" What is it?" Sonoko asked.

" Nothing." Ran said quietly. " Nothing at all."

" Four hundred and fifty!" someone yelled.

" Four hundred and eighty!"

Shiho looked at Yamakasi with raised eyebrows, and he just grinned back at her before turning back to the crowd.

" Five hundred!" someone yelled from the back.

" Five hundred and fifty!" Sanshriyuki said.

There was absolute silence that followed that, and everyone turned around to face him. Yamakasi looked around the crowd for larger buyers, but they all seemed to be right out of their wallets, and were looking at Sanshriyuki in hate and jealousy.

" I think this could be it." Baki muttered to himself. " Too bad as a teacher I don't get much money."

" Going once. . ." Yamakasi shouted out.

Still nobody voted.

" Going twice. . ."

Sanshriyuki clenched his fist in triumph.

" Five hundred and sixty!" came a yell from the back.

Everyone turned at that, but nobody's shock could compare to Shiho's.

" Damn." Sanshriyuki muttered.

Shiho's eyes were wide.

" . . .Shinichi?" she whispered.

END CHAPTER 19

By the way, the flashback of Akemi and Shiho was in chapter 12. Exactly what does Shiho see in Sanshriyuki? Who wins the balloting, Sanshriyuki or Shinichi? Does everyone have a happy ending? THE LAST CHAPTER will be up! Please look foward to it! Thanks!


	20. I Love You FINAL

Many questions were answered. There's a few left, and they will be answered in this one. There is one large question, however, that will never be answered, and that is Yoro. Who is he? Who is he working for? How did he know Shishio and Shuichi? This will not be answered in this story. I prefer to leave him as a question mark; an enigma. He might appear in my other stories; I am rather fond of him. In fact, he has already appeared in one of my last three works, as those fans of my stories would know. Thank you all for your time and support. I don't think there will be a need for a sequel for this. Thank you all so very much.

CHAPTER 20 (FINALE)

There Shinichi stood there; out of breath, clutching his aching ribs. He looked and smiled softly at the look of absolute shock on Shiho's face from the look of hate and resentment on Sanshriyuki's. Yamakasi grinned to himself. " Five hundred and fifty going once. . ." he called out. ' You were right again, Yorokobi.' he thought to himself softly. ' There really is a show going on for all of us to watch.'

Sanshriyuki looked at Shinichi for a complete second, gazing into his eyes. Shinichi looked back with equal resentment, smirking as Sanshriyuki clenched his fists.

" Going twice. . ." Yamakasi shouted.

Sanshriyuki looked at him.

" Five hundred and sixty." he said.

Sonoko bit her lip and looked sideways at him, but he was glaring at Shinichi, his eyes never leaving him, almost daring him to go a cost higher than that.

" Five hundred and seventy."

Akemi giggled to herself, zooming in on Shinichi's face. " Oh dear, he **has** been beaten up pretty badly. . ." she muttered to herself. " Looks like he had to meet peril just to arrive for little Shiho-chan's balloting."

" Five hundred and eighty." Sanshriyuki said, face harder than any rock on the face of the earth.

Shinichi smirked.

" Six hundred." he muttered.

The entire room was quiet now; you could have dropped the hole in the middle of a doughnut on the ground, and it would have been heard. Shiho just stood there, looking from Shinichi to Sanshriyuki, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. She bit her lip at the sorry sight of Shinichi's attire. Where had he been for the last thirty minutes? Who did he have a fight with? Or was he just having a wrestle with a hog near some farm? She looked around for Yoro, but could not find him anywhere. She blinked but said nothing.

" Six hundred and thirty!" Shinichi yelled.

" Six hundred and fifty!"

" This is not looking good," Ran muttered under her breath, nibbling on her bottom lip. " I never knew Sanshriyuki had so much money. Shinichi I can understand; he just received a thousand dollars from Old Master Qi for rescuing his priceless Ming Vase and fingering out the culprit. . .he never had a problem with money from the start. Besides the fact that his father is a famous writer and that his mother is an actress, that is."

" Sanshriyuki only can go up to seven hundred and fifty." Sonoko said quietly, and Ran looked at her. Sonoko shut her eyes sadly before smiling at Ran. " He told me he had saved up like mad when he found out about the balloting. Borrowing money from me, working doubly hard at his job, saving up every cent in his allowance. . .it still will only be until the small amount of seven hundred and fifty; he already told me. And he does not want to borrow any more money from me," she added as Ran opened her mouth to argue.

Ran clamped her lips shut.

" Oh." she said. " That's nowhere near Shinichi's, I guess."

" That's not true, actually." Sonoko said confidently. " My sources told me that Kudo blew it off to buy a present for Shiho. . ."

" . . .It's Miyano-sensei." Ran said.

" Right." Sonoko said impatiently before continuing. " . . .He spent most of his money to buy something for Shi- - -Miyano-sensei." she said in a rather exasperated voice as Ran opened her mouth. " He only has seven hundred and twenty dollars left, if lucky, forty."

Ran gasped.

" That's below Sanshriyuki's!" she said.

" Glad you're catching on." Sonoko said dryly.

" But what exactly did Shinichi buy the present for Shiho for?" Ran asked.

" I don't know." Sonoko said. " But apparently he just got it not too long ago."

" How long ago?" Ran asked.

" Five to ten minutes ago," Sonoko said.

" Why would he get it so suddenly?" Ran asked.

Sonoko shrugged. " Beats me. But I got a clue on who he last talked to before he ran off."

" Yeah, a young lady." Ran said. " She told him to go to the basketball courts. . ."

" That was before that." Sonoko said. " He talked to Shiho's sister."

Ran's eyes widened.

Behind them, Akemi started to giggle.

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" Seven hundred!" Shinichi yelled.

" Seven hundred and ten!" Sanshriyuki yelled.

" Seven hundred and twenty!" Shinichi said.

Shinichi bit his lip. They were getting close to his mark now; he only had a few tens left to spare before he blew all his money away. Sanshriyuki took a glance at Shiho before nodding to himself and looked up at Yamakasi. " Seven hundred and thirty!" he bellowed out.

" Seven hundred and forty!" Shinichi said desperately.

That was it.

If Sanshriyuki went one more mark up. . .

Sanshriyuki could have won.

Many said that he would have if he didn't catch a glance at Sonoko at that moment, he would have bet on the last mark and won Shiho over. But the thing was that he didn't. The two of them stared at each other; something passing between the two of them.

Boy looks at girl.

Girl looks at boy.

A silent conversation took place.

" One!" the announcer said.

Sanshriyuki looked into Sonoko's eyes, and she stared right back.

An unknown tear fell from her face.

His eyes widened.

" Two!" Yamakasi yelled.

He seemed to look at Shinichi, then Shiho, then Sonoko in that split second before shutting his eyes and stuffing his hands in his pockets, a small grin on his face; the first wrinkles of a smile that appeared after such a long time.

Shinichi's eyes widened.

Shiho blinked.

" THREE!" Yamakasi roared. " Shinichi wins!"

There were roars beyond roars and Shinichi looked at Sanshriyuki in awe, staring at him in unflattering disbelief. Sanshriyuki grinned at him. " Just go get her." he said quietly. Shinichi stayed in that position for a moment before grinning.

" Thank you." he said.

He took a step up the stage, reaching Shiho closer and closer with every step. She stared at him, eyes wide. It was when they were noses away when he grinned at her cheekily. " Hello," he said. " Shiho."

She blinked before smiling warmly back.

" Hey." she said.

She stayed silent for a moment before grinning at him fully.

" Shinichi." she finished.

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Shinichi brought her outside, a grin on his face.

" Wow, deja vu." he said, laughing as the sat at the balcony once again.

" Yeah." She said, giggling nervously.

Silence.

" Look," he said, catching her hands within his. She looked at his hands for a moment before looking up at him. He grinned at her before reaching into his pocket and placed a small box into her hands. She raised her eyebrows and looked at him in confusion. " It's a birthday present." he explained.

" It's not my birthday today, Kudo." she said.

" No, it isn't." he said sheepishly. " This is for missing your birthday ten years ago."

She raised her eyebrows.

" That's because we didn't know each other." she said.

He smiled rather mysteriously at her.

" Do you really think so?" he said.

When she could think of no answer for that, she opened the box and found a necklace inside, wrapped around a photograph. Glancing upwards at Shinichi, who was now avoiding her gaze, she took the photograph and looked at it before her eyes widened.

" _It's my birthday tomorrow." Shiho said. " Will you come?"_

" _I promise." Shinichi said cheekily._

" _Both of you look here!" Shinichi's mother said excitedly, holding up her camera._

" _Mom. . ." Shinichi said wearily. " Shiho does not like. . ."_

" _It's alright." Shiho said, and Shinichi looked at her._

_She smiled, blushing._

" _As long as it's with you. . .I don't think I mind."_

_His eyes widened before smiling._

" His name was. . .Shinichi." Shiho whispered.

" _Shiho-chan? This is my son. . .Shinichi." _

" All along. . .he was right beside me. . ." she whispered, a tear falling from her eye.

" _Hi." the boy said brightly. " Can we be friends? My name is. . ."_

" Kudo Shinichi." Shinichi said, smiling at her warmly.

Shiho burst into tears. " All along. . .you knew?"

" Not really." Shinichi said sheepishly. " Your sister told me not long ago. . .I ran off to the nearest jewelry store around and bought this for you."

" Shinichi. . ." she said.

He brought her into a hug, feeling her shaking uncontrollably to his touch.

" It's alright. . ." he said soothingly.

" No it's not. . ." she cried. " When. . .how. . .why?"

" I don't think it's a coincidence." he said, grinning at her. He wiped away her tears away lovingly, but they seemed impossible to disappear; continuing to drench her face with salty rain from her eyes. " I don't think it was hooked either. I think it was fate."

" That's so unlike you." she choked.

" As if crying is your style." he said.

She punched him in the shoulder before looking up to meet his eyes.

" Look, Shinichi. . ." she started.

" Yes?" he asked.

" I can't love you if I'm a teacher." she said.

" Oh." he said, disappointed. " I guess. . ."

" That's why I'm retiring." she said, and he looked up.

" What?" he gasped.

" I'm retiring." she said.

Silence.

" So does that mean. . ." he said, and she giggled.

" Yeah. . ." she said softly.

" _Mother, what's love?" Shiho asked._

" _You'll know that when you grow up, young Shiho." the woman said sadly. _

" _And when will that be?" Shiho asked._

" What I'm trying to say is. . ." she started.

" _This is what Kudo wrote about me?"_

_Shinichi's Literature Teacher smiled at her. " I didn't think it was about to tell you until a friend of Shinichi's persuaded me to. Despite several grammatical errors, I think it was written very well. Would you like to hear it?"_

" _Yes," Shiho said, taking the paper from him._

' _Love. It is not a word, nor is it a phrase. It is a sign of trust, a sign of respect, and a sign of attraction. No hate is needed inside a relationship. When I looked at her, I saw that all I needed was her touch, her care, and her love.'_

" Shinichi. . ."

' _She did not smile often. But it was after I knew her as a person when I found out that her toughness was merely an act of resistance; to prevent others from breaking her, from understanding her. I did not want to harm her in any way, but I saw her crumble before me, and I cried tears for her I never knew I could. Her smile could brighten up the darkest of my days, could destroy any hate I was feeling.'_

" I. . ."

' _It was then when I realized the true difference between friendship and love. It is like sitting down at a beach, or like watching fireworks. You see the beautiful sunset before you, you see the pretty fireworks before you, the one person you first think of is her. Wanting to enjoy it with her, wanting to watch her smile and laugh along with her, and to feel her sweet lips pressed against yours.'_

" I really think that. . ."

' _I was riding down pathway from school today, and as I crossed the valley past the neighbour school, I looked up at the sky, and saw the beautiful sunset dipping into the sky. It was at that moment when I thought of her. It was like admiring the beauty of the sunset, the majestic colour of it; just admiring it, just enjoying being near or around it. And for a minute or two, I just stood there enjoying being in its presence.'_

" I love you, Kudo Shinichi." she whispered, tears falling from her face.

A wide smile fell on his face as he pressed his lips against hers.

" I love you too, Shiho Miyano." he said between choked tears.

' _No words are needed.'_

Far away, Yoro, Shuichi and Shishio watched them.

" That was beautiful." Yoro said fondly.

" Yeah.," Shishio muttered, lighting himself a cigarette. " I guess I have to live with that."

Shuichi smiled softly. " Yeah." he said. " I guess so."

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Sonoko stood at the dance floor, wiping away her tears hastily.

" So much for the best night of the year." she muttered to herself, spinning her heel to walk away when she stopped, eyes wide. There stood Sanshriyuki standing before her, the same emotionless expression on his face, yet there was something different in his eyes that she only saw him project towards Shiho. He lifted up his hand in her direction, a small smile on his face now.

" May I have this dance?" he asked.

From confusion to happiness, she took his hand and they danced across the floor skillfully.

" But what about your date?" she asked softly.

He seemed thoughtful before shrugging.

" I can cancel it, I guess." he said. " She'll understand."

" And if she doesn't. . .?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

He smirked at her.

" I'm sure you can cook something up." he replied.

She smiled back.

" Yeah. . ." she said quietly, pressing her head against his shoulder. " I guess I could."

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" I thought that you didn't love me back." Shinichi said to Shiho, running his hands through her hair fondly, pressing small kisses on her neck with every word he said. She giggled at that, and punched him in the shoulder once again playfully, pushing him away from her for a moment.

" It was because I was still holding out for him." she said. " I kept thinking that at the end of everything; just like always, when I wanted him the most, he would come for me."

" But he didn't." Shinichi said.

She looked up at him and smiled warmly.

" No he didn't." she said. " **You** did."

He blushed.

" I don't know who I thought I was kidding, actually." she said heaving a sigh. " Whenever I felt lonely, you were right there by my side. When I was cold, you gave me warmth. When I was bored, you were there to accompany me. When I was hungry, you treated me to food. When I was sad. . ."

" I wiped your tears?" Shinichi said helpfully, and she cocked her brow.

" Sorry." he said sheepishly. " I love Literature."

" So I've heard." she said, unable to control herself, then regretted it soon afterwards.

He looked at her for a moment before gasping.

" You read my composition!" he said.

" Yes." she admitted. " If it makes you feel any better, it was really touching."

" Of course it was, it was directed towards you, wasn't it?" he said.

" That's true." she said.

He caught her eye and the both of them laughed.

"So what are you planning to do once you quit?" Shinichi asked her once they had ceased laughing.

" I'm not sure, actually." she admitted. " Probably further my studies."

" Don't you have an IQ of 200?" he said wittingly.

" I know that, actually." she said haughtily, and he rolled his eyes. " It's just that I always wanted to be a student again. . .eating lunch with friends, chatting about which boys were looking our way, going out to watch a movie. . ."

" I thought you hated that?" he said.

" It would be interesting to fall back in that lifestyle again." she said.

Silence.

" I can't believe you're the little boy from my younger days." she said.

" Me neither." he said.

" Hey, there's something I've been constantly wondering." she said, looking at him in acknowledgment, and continued when he nodded his head. " Why didn't you show up on my birthday?"

He blinked.

Should he tell her?

Oh, what the Hell.

" Your father forced me away." he replied, and her eyes widened.

" My. . .father?" she whispered, and at that moment, they noticed someone standing before them, and they both looked up; there stood Sanshriyuki, his hands in his pockets.

" Sanshriyuki." both of them said at the same time.

He nodded. " Can I talk to you for a moment, Miyano-sensei?"

" Alright." Shiho said, not looking at Shinichi, who was looking at Sanshriyuki. There was something different about the way he called Shiho; it was almost like he was going to break up with her. Well, it was the tone he used actually. The two of them met eyes for a moment. Sanshriyuki smiled at him.

Shinichi blinked before grinning back.

Sanshriyuki brought Shiho behind a pillar.

" Look, Miyano-sensei. . ." he said, scratching his head. " I'm happy for you and Kudo."

She blinked.

" What?" she said.

" You and him." Sanshriyuki said impatiently. " I. . .I don't think I would need to ballot for you anymore anyway. It's. . .not exactly on my top list of things anymore."

She raised her eyebrows.

" Alright." she said.

She made motion to leave when he opened his mouth once again. " Look, I really want to thank you." he said to her. When she said nothing in reply, he went on. " Besides helping me out with my chemistry marks, I thank you for letting me get together with Sonoko. It might sound crazy that I'm thanking you; but you were the main reason that the two of us became friends. It's a long story," he added sheepishly, and she smiled.

" Thank you, Sanshriyuki." she said.

" Welcome." he said.

It was then when they caught eyes when she realized who he reminded her so much of. His features, his looks, his scowl. . .his speech. . .his everything, come to think of it. . .

" Father." she whispered softly.

He blinked.

" What?" he asked, bewildered.

" Nothing." she blurted out. " Nothing at all."

It was then when she smiled; a true smile, one to invite someone to a party, or to invite some long lost back home.

She turned away, smiling softly.

" Welcome back." she said quietly.

Sanshriyuki raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

It was better than he hadn't anyway.

And somewhere inside him; he knew that.

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" Shinichi."

Shinichi turned around and found Shuichi standing behind him, lighting a cigarette. His eyes widened. " Shuichi!" he gasped out. " Shiho's just inside! If she sees you. . .!"

" Relax," he said. " I already sent Sanshriyuki to stall her. I just wanted one final chat with you."

He blinked.

" Oh?" he asked. " About what?"

Shuichi held out a hand for a handshake. " You beat me fair and square, Kudo." he said. " I don't know where I would be going. . .it might be somewhere pretty far. . .but someday we would meet again, and at that we not just meet as friends of enemies or rivals, but as. . ."

Shinichi shook his hand firmly, grinning.

" . . .But as brothers." he said.

Shuichi smiled.

" Exactly." he said.

There was the breaking of glass from the party, and Shuichi nodded. Apparently that was some sort of sign that Shiho was coming, because he hopped back on the ledge of the balcony.

" Goodbye Shinichi." he said.

" Goodbye. . .brother." Shinichi said.

With one final smile, Shuichi was gone, and behind Shinichi Shiho walked in.

" Did you wait for me long?" she asked.

Shinichi continued to look at the pale moon that was haunting the pale skies, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiling softly. " No I didn't." he whispered. " Not compared to ten years, anyway."

Shiho hugged him around the waist, and the two of them watched the moon illuminate the skies above.

Behind them, Yoro took a swig of his drink and smiled.

" That's what love is," he said silently. " Just like what you said, was it not, Kudo-kun?"

He put the glass back on the table.

" No words are needed."

EPILOGUE ( SIX MONTHS LATER)

It was not long ago when Miyano-sensei retired did they find out of their Principal's missing appearance. " That's funny." Sanshriyuki muttered under his breath, rubbing his chin. " I swear I saw him at the party just a few nights ago. Or at least, I saw his reflection."

" That's impossible." Sonoko said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

" Either that, or your boy-friend's crazy." Yoro said, appearing from behind the group with Ran. " You can choose either one."

" That would mean Sanshriyuki could be in two different movies, right?" Shinichi said, jumping at the chance.

" He could be the great liar Hitler in Hitler: Rise To Evil. . ." Yoro said.

" Or he could be the delusionist in A Beautiful Mind played by Russell Crowe."

The others burst into laughter at that, and Yoro and Shinichi high-fived.

" Oh shut up." Sanshriyuki muttered.

" Hey, it's a really beautiful day isn't it?" Ran said brightly, changing the subject immediately in case Sanshriyuki did something dangerous. " There's not a cloud in the sky at all."

" Yeah, it is." Shinichi agreed.

Silence.

" Still no idea where Miyano-sensei went to, huh?" Sonoko asked.

" No." Shinichi said gloomily. " I thought she would tell me."

" Oh, I think she would be coming back soon enough." Yoro said mysteriously.

Shinichi blinked. " How do you know?"

" There's a person who has easy contacts to get any teacher enrolled in this school, my dear Kudo." Yoro said, grinning broadly. " And you're looking at him."

" For once, he's not just bragging." Sanshriyuki said.

" Really?" Shinichi said, interested. " Then. . ."

He stopped.

How else could Shiho have gotten directly into this school?

Did Yoro, once again, have something to do with this?

He looked at him, and Yoro smiled.

" You're one mysterious fellow." Shinichi muttered.

" Thanks." Yoro said brightly.

" EVERYONE! GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS!" Takashi-sensei roared at the top of his lungs, probably shattering a couple of ear drums along the way. Wincing, the students sat down on their seats. " We have a new student in our class this year." he said brightly. " One whom I don't think would go unrecognized by a few of you."

It was her.

There she stood haughtily, her lips in a small, smooth smile.

Amid the cheers that were heard, Takashi grinned at her.

" Please report your name." he said.

" Glad to." she said pleasantly, before looking straight at Shinichi, who grinned back at her.

" My name is Miyano." she said clearly, her lips mouthing out every letter; like a kiss. " Shiho Miyano."

END STORY (FINALE)

If the last line sounds familiar, it was the same from the end of my first chapter in Marrying Haibara. How did you like this story? Frankly speaking, I was rather proud of the way this story summarized out in the end. Did any of you suspect that Shiho saw Sanshriyuki as her father; Shishio? I hope that none of you did; I wanted to have a final twist in the end. Lolz. Well, this is the end of this story. For all those who are actually interested in this tiny bit of trivia, the epilogue of the story was actually different. It's supposed to be Shiho ready to go to her next job as a teacher, and as she walks on the way there, her eyes widens. " Shuichi?" she whispers.

But I wanted a more optimistic ending, so I scrapped out that idea. Plus, it seemed kind of cryptic. Well, I want to thank every single reviewer of this story; your reviews really meant a lot to me. And I'm not just saying that. It's like a hot cup of coca on a cold day, or a nice cool breeze on a hot summer day. I love you guys. Thanks for supporting my story all the way until the final chapter. I hope to continue onto other stories if I have the time; but for the moment I would like to just finish off my other story, A Girl Called Anna, a Shaman King fanfiction. Thank you all, once again.

Cheers to every great reader and reviewer:)

Reviewer Shrine: ( Not in Any Order Actually. Does not mean that you're at the bottom of the list means that I thank you the least)** SN 1987A, anime-obsession260, Vash, Spydc123, ConanYLX, greatkid4869, YumeTakato, ShinichixShiho, Poisonous Akemi 4869, goldfishlover73, Moo., redgrrl, SockMan, melancholy wife, tall chick, Friend. ' Te-heh' xD, greatkid4869, Bawbiy., Alouete, death88, First Silvera, Ms. Starry-eyed ,..., That Guy, AmazonChick73, kris, Crystal Snowflakes, Fanfic Maniac, Silver Sky Magician, Adilla, ConanYLX, Kayla, Lynn, wayupi, joeshen, tantei, Yamin, KristiexxNguyen, Teresa, Sooner, Neil, H. Ruri, Kippenberger, Great Detective, Ai-San,xtuyet, Sadie Janelle, FoxyFire, Motosuwa-Hideki, Clau, neil, Sacred Aliance, Genjy0-Sanz0, seedees, goldmund, Kisara Koi, mimi and Kaiden Jurei (My FIRST reviewer of this story! Thanks!)**


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